Seeing Red
by Bumbledbee
Summary: Group projects: only bearable if you get to choose your group. And Rose Weasley definitely did not choose to be in a group with bad tempered Scorpius Malfoy, pompous Fenton Fawley, and her ex-boyfriend Roy Wilden. This can only end in tears.
1. Chapter 1: Grouped Together

I stared at my name on the sheet of paper.

First came shock, time stopped as I stood frozen, my brain tried and failed to process the information.

Second came denial, my eyes darted around the page, frantically running through the list of names, checking, double checking. No, it couldn't be. Surely I'd just read it wrong, out of all the people in the class, I couldn't have been grouped with _him._ And _him_. And also _him_.

Third came panic, my breath came out in short sharp puffs. How could this have happened _?_ How could I have been so unlucky? I scrambled to think of all the things I'd done wrong in my lifetime… but surely convincing Albus that Flobberworms were dangerous didn't warrant this sort of punishment!

I let out an inadvertent chuckle at the memory of Albus catapulting himself backwards to escape the clutches of the harmless Flobberworms in First Year Herbology.

Oh Merlin, maybe I did deserve it.

I stumbled sideways as other students clambered over me to get a look at their groups and stood in a daze as I accepted my fate. I'd thought that the lack of croissants at breakfast had been a travesty, but this. THIS. A sigh escaped my lips.

Oh, how I longed to go back to a simpler time when the absence of croissants was my biggest problem.

I was so much older now…

I felt a pair of eyes on me and looked up to find Roy Wilden staring at me. Any residue feelings of goodwill from the thought of croissants vanished in an instant.

Roy Wilden, group member number one: ex-boyfriend. We dated for a year and a half and poor innocent, 6th Year Rose had thought he was the one. With warm brown eyes that had sent my heart fluttering with nary a glance, he'd been considerate and thoughtful, everything you'd hope from a first boyfriend. But then one unassuming Wednesday after lunch at 1:29pm, he'd taken me aside and informed me that our relationship was over. And I'm not sure if I'd truly been in love with him- I still wasn't sure what love really was, but it had certainly felt like my heart cracked a little in that moment. Roy then proceeded to explain that he'd begun developing feelings for someone else and absolutely nothing, NOTHING had happened between them, but he didn't want to disrespect me in any way, so he was ending their relationship then and there. He subsequently apologised so sincerely and profusely that I left feeling like I was the one who'd broken up with him.

Two weeks later, I spotted Felicity Spellson and Roy holding hands underneath the table and somehow the fact that they were hiding it from me shoved the knife in even deeper. And I know it's been 5 months since the break up, but Merlin help me, I wasn't strong enough to deal with this right now.

I tore my gaze from his and turned to observe Fenton Fawley: group member number two. Think of every entitled male you have met, combine them all into one, and you get Fenton Fawley. His mother owned the successful Quality Quidditch Supplies franchise and Fenton had no qualms about flaunting their wealth. You know how your parents stich your name into your uniform to make sure you don't lose it? Fenton swept into the Great Hall in first year with his initials monogrammed in gold on his robes. Need I say more?

I sighed and turned to observe group member number three: Scorpius Malfoy. Surly and bad tempered, his eyes were perpetually at half mast as he glared at the world. I looked at him now as he reclined on his chair, his long legs sticking out from under the table and one arm draped over the empty seat next to him. He met my eyes with a scowl as if to say, what are you looking at? I averted my eyes despite herself. I wasn't about to start a fight with Hogwarts' resident grump.

Oh Merlin, give me strength. I could maybe deal with them individually on a good day, but not all at once! I trudged over to my table to pack up my books and took a deep breath. I could do this, I was a strong, capable young lady. I had the poise and maturity to deal with this situation.

I looked around the room to see all the other groups smiling and laughing as they gathered together, then turned to see Fenton, Roy, and Scorpius sitting awkwardly in a row together. I let out what could have been a sob or a laugh, I wasn't sure at this point. Scorpius was still draped over his seat, ignoring the other two who had joined him. He might as well have had his feet up on the table for all it was worth. Roy sat in the middle, his face polite, but I could see the discomfort creeping in through the corners of his eyes. And Fenton lounged on his chair as if it was a throne, waiting expectantly for me to join them.

I hitched my books up in my arms and pasted on a smile as I turned to approach them. "Hey team."

"Hi Rose," was Roy's half-hearted response.

Scorpius raised his steely eyes to meet mine with a look of bored disdain.

"Great, we can finally get started," this was from Fenton, he rustled his papers fussily. "So I was thinking our History of Magic project could be on the history of Quality Quidditch Supplies, it's really quite interesting, and my mum would be happy to provide records."

My eyes widened, was this guy serious? I inadvertently met Roy's eyes, he looked similarly horrified.

"It will all be primary sources as well, we won't even have to-"

"No," Scorpius cut in, "next idea."

The whole group stared at him in shock.

"No?" Fenton asked, flabbergasted.

"Did I stutter?" Scorpius articulated, his voice dripping with disdain.

I barely bit back a guffaw.

"Oh, okay then," Fenton blinked, shaking his head as he flipped through his notes again. "Well, we could also do our project on the Sacred 28. My family's part of that 28, you know, we have a long and illustrious history. There'd be a lot to talk about."

My lip may have curled a little in that moment. I snuck a quick glance at Roy and Scorpius to see them both looking at Fenton in disgust.

It wasn't just me then.

"How about it? I think your family's in there too Malfoy-"

"No," Scorpius interrupted.

Fenton blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"I said, _no_."

"Oh, your family's not in the Sacred 28?"

"No, as in, that's a stupid idea," Scorpius snapped.

I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing out loud. Maybe it was a good thing that Scorpius was in our group, Fenton might actually be manageable with him here.

"Well!" Fenton spluttered, "That's very…" he scrambled to find the right word, " _rude_."

Scorpius looked at him dispassionately before turning his gaze onto me and Roy. "Do you two have any bright ideas?"

I stiffened, unprepared for the sudden redirection of his attention. "Um, well, I thought the muggle persecution of witches in the 14th century might be interesting."

Scorpius' face turned thoughtful and I steeled myself for the impending shut down. But then he gave a slight nod. "Yeah, okay."

My eyebrows shot up.

Scorpius turned to Roy. "What do you think?"

Roy shrugged. "Er yeah, I like it."

"You?" Scorpius pointed at Fenton.

"I guess it could work," Fenton mumbled sullenly.

"Okay, it's settled."

I blinked. Had we just approved my idea? Had _Scorpius Malfoy_ just approved my idea?

Scorpius turned his aloof gaze onto me, "What?"

I started. I hadn't even realised I was staring at him. "Oh, nothing."

Scorpius cocked his head. "Then look away."

My mouth may have fallen open at that point. Who did this guy think he was? "Why?" I couldn't help bite back, "Feeling self-conscious, Malfoy?"

"Yeah, I didn't have time to put on any foundation this morning and I'm having a bad skin day," Scorpius responded, deadpan.

Then I really did stare. Was he being serious? Did he actually wear makeup every day? Surely not… but then again, what did I know? Oh Merlin, had I just severely damaged his self-esteem? Shit, I was a terrible person. But his skin looked absolutely fine to me! I looked to see Fenton and Roy both gawping at him.

"It's called a joke, Weasley," Scorpius said slowly, looking at me as if I was touched in the head.

I let out a hasty laugh, "Hah, of course, a joke," I smiled weakly as I felt the blood return to my face. "Good one."

Scorpius rolled his eyes and packed up his books. "Anyway, I'll see you all next week."

Fenton and Roy farewelled him, but I just sat there gormlessly.

Scorpius Malfoy made a joke. Scorpius Malfoy made a joke about wearing foundation. Scorpius Malfoy knew what foundation was? Scorpius Malfoy had a sense of humour?

Scorpius Malfoy had a sense of humour.

Scorpius Malfoy liked my idea for the group project.

Scorpius Malfoy thought I was an idiot who didn't get his jokes.

Scorpius Malfoy was one scary ass motherfucker.

"Well that could've gone a lot worse," Roy commented, placing his books in his bag.

"I still think Professor Liu would have loved a presentation on Quality Quidditch Supplies," Fenton sniffed.

"Ready for lunch?" Felicity Spellson appeared at Roy's shoulder.

I would have welcomed an interruption from any other person if it meant saving me from responding to Fenton's comment. Anyone other than Felicity.

Roy glanced at me for a moment too long before responding, "Yup, I'll see you guys around."

I hastily rearranged my face into what I hoped was a neutral facial expression. Why did he look at me anyway? Did he still think I cared? I didn't care! It had been five months; he could date whoever he wanted!

"Great. Bye Rose, by Fenton." Felicity smiled sunnily at us.

Was that a pity smile? Oh Merlin, it was a pity smile.

But then again, Felicity was a pretty friendly gal. She probably didn't think twice about smiling at her boyfriend's ex. That was probably why Roy fancied her…NOT that I cared. I really didn't care. I had zero cares.

I was definitely over Roy Wilden.

So far over him that I could barely see him from all the way up here.

…

It just hurt a little to be in such close proximity to him. To them.

But just a twinge.

Barely noticed it to be honest.

A niggle.

I was fine.

"If it helps, I think you're much better than her," Fenton's voice cut through my thoughts.

Merlin help me, I did not need Fenton's pity. I did not want Fenton's pity. Was I so pathetic that even someone as self-absorbed as Fenton noticed? I flushed. "It doesn't, because I don't really care either way. But thanks, I guess."

"Really?" Fenton queried, "Because you're looking a little… pained."

"Oh am I?" I faltered, "That's just because I haven't been feeling that well today." I coughed for good measure.

"Oh, okay, well that's good then, because it'd be really awkward working in a group together otherwise."

I forced a smile. It may have come off more like a grimace. Or a weird facial twitch.

"Well, I hope you feel better soon. I'm no healer, but my uncle is head of his division at St Mungos and he'd probably recommend a Pepperup Potion." Fenton swung his dragon skin satchel over his shoulder. "I'll see you next class."

As I watched Fenton flounce out of the classroom, one simple fact became blindingly clear to me; I could not stay in this group.

The very thought of enduring another hour, even half an hour of Scorpius' disdainful eyes and snarky comments, Fenton's ridiculous ideas and his pompous pity, and simply being in Roy's presence, had me recoiling in dread and dismay.

I slumped in my seat. If I was this emotionally drained after one meeting, how would I survive a whole semester's worth of interaction?

I watched Professor Liu clean the board with his wand, and a tiny flame flickered amongst the burnt embers. He was my only hope.

I didn't care if I had to relinquish my topic about the persecution of witches, for the sake of my sanity, I had to get out of this group.

* * *

Hello everyone!

It's been a while, but I'm back with a new story :D I hope you enjoyed chapter 1, please let me know what you think!

Bumbledbee


	2. Chapter 2: The Consequence of Commas

History of Magic was my favourite class. Partially because I found the subject matter captivating and partially because I also found the deliverer of said subject matter captivating.

Professor Alistair Liu.

Professor Liu had a way of explaining the most menial things in the most engaging manner. He snuffed out any mischief with wit so sharp that he had the offending student laughing and acknowledging defeat with deference. But he never called out or embarrassed a student for not knowing an answer. He had the unique ability of understanding what a student was feeling and how to make them comfortable.

Alistair Liu was the cool older brother you wished you had.

If your older brother had fine cheekbones and luscious black hair which swooped upwards in a manner that said 'I'm immaculately groomed, but not vain'. If your older brother was tall and lean and looked like a dreamy poet. If your older brother moved around the classroom with a catlike grace that had you resting your face in the palm of your hand as you feasted your eyes upon him.

On second thoughts, I was very glad he wasn't my older brother.

"Excuse me, Professor, could I ask you something?"

"Rose," Professor Liu acknowledged me warmly and it sounded like praise, "What can I do for you?"

"I was just wondering if it was possible at all for someone to switch groups?" I asked tentatively, shifting from foot to foot.

Professor Liu's eyes twinkled. "Does this someone happen to be you, Rose?"

I grinned sheepishly. "Maybe?"

Professor Liu sighed. "I knew it was too good to be true. It was impossible that everyone was satisfied. Still one out of thirty is not bad."

A weight lifted off my shoulders at his easy going smile, things were going to be okay. I should never have even worried. I knew I could always count on Professor Liu to be kind and reasonable. He wasn't my favourite teacher for nothing.

But then he continued, "I'm really sorry, Rose, I wish I could switch you into another group, but it wouldn't be fair on the other students who've already started their projects. And as soon as I allow one student to change, everyone will want to change."

The breath left my lungs as my spirit drifted away and I spiralled into darkness.

Betrayal.

Okay, not really, but I must have looked truly crestfallen because Professor Liu quickly followed up with, "But what's wrong with your group? Let me see, Scorpius Malfoy, Roy Wilden, Fenton Fawley… I think most people would be quite happy with that! Academically you're a strong group."

"Academically…" I mumbled dully. Didn't he realise that academics mattered comparatively little in group projects? "So there's no way? Not even if I found someone who wanted to switch with me?"

"I'm really sorry, Rose. Like I said, once I allow one person to choose their group, everyone will want to switch. But I'm sure you'll be just fine," Professor Liu encouraged bracingly, "I believe in you."

But even his enchanting smile which usually set my heart a flutter, did little to ease the pain.

In fact, his untouchable spot as my favourite professor was suddenly very…touchable. A mere flick by McGonagall would send him toppling down to rank two, maybe even three.

Still, I cared too much about what he thought of me to beg or explain why I wanted to switch groups.

"Okay, well… thanks anyway, I guess," I mumbled, a shadow of my former self.

"Chin up, Rose. I'll see you next class."

Next class. Next class where I'd have to endure another hour of Scorpius, Fenton, and Roy.

I could cry.

* * *

Merlin must have been feeling merciful because our second meeting went surprisingly smoothly. Well, smoothly for me at least. We spent the session researching individually, which thankfully required minimal interaction. The fifth year who happened to borrow the textbook that Scorpius needed, however, had a rougher time. Her friend did a great job at comforting her though because she only used half the tissues I gave her.

Still, today the real group work began. Today, we were reading through each other's research and actually collaborating.

A wave of familiarity washed over me as I read through Roy's neatly written and summarised notes. It felt weirdly intimate reading his work, to see which words he'd crossed out and the splotches of ink where he'd pressed too hard. I could picture him poring over books in the Gryffindor Common Room, a crease on his brow as he twirled his favourite Scrivenshaft quill. I snuck a glance at him. What was he thinking reading my notes? No, wait. I didn't care what he was thinking, because I didn't care what he thought about me.

I did not care about Roy Wilden.

I just…

I just wanted to know where we'd gone wrong… where I'd gone wrong.

Merlin's Beard, Rose, it's been five months.

I seriously needed to get a grip.

Well, technically I'd had a grip when I only had to see him in passing every now and then. But that grip was loosening with every group meeting I had to endure. Every interaction was a slap in the face, a constant reminder of our past.

And it's not like I could just avoid him by clinging onto Fenton or Scorpius, because…well, that would just be weird. And awkward as hell.

And let's be real here, a choice between Fenton, Scorpius, and Roy was a very difficult one.

"Are you okay, Rose?" Roy asked, his face concerned. He glanced down at my hands scrunching up the bottom of his paper in an iron grip.

The parchment crinkled as I unfurled it, hastily trying to smooth it back into place.

"Fine," I squeaked. But before I could mumble out what would surely have been a pitiful excuse, Scorpius threw down his papers in frustration and sat violently back in his chair, his jaw twitching.

I hesitantly looked up to see what had caused this anger, but thankfully his hostile glare was directed at Fenton.

"Is it true that you're in Seventh Year, Fawley?" Scorpius asked, his voice dangerously polite.

Fenton shrunk in his seat. "Uh, yes?"

Scorpius gave him a tight lipped smile, "And is English your first language?"

Sensing peril, Fenton looked at me for support. But I was as lost as he was, I gave him a slight nod.

"Affirmative," Fenton's voice trembled.

"Then why is it that you don't know how to USE COMMAS?!" Scorpius' voice had been rising steadily throughout his sentence, but the force of his yell still caused us all to flinch.

Fenton's bottom lip quivered as his hair blew away from his face. "I'm sorry?"

Scorpius huffed at him in disbelief. "Let me read some of your notes to you, shall I?" He cleared his throat. "Muggles did not persecute witches who were disabled pregnant children. Disabled pregnant children?! Are you unaware that it is impossible for children to be pregnant or did you simply forget to put commas between each word?"

Laughter burst from my lips before I could control myself.

This was unfortunate, because Scorpius turned his outraged gaze on to me. "You think this is funny?! Try deciphering five pages of this crap!"

Scorpius looked at Roy for support, but even Roy had cracked a smile.

Scorpius made a noise of disgust and turned back to Fenton's notes. "On page three he writes, 'Prostitutes, Sarabella Lance and Cromwell Quince, were also killed in the massacre.' Sarabella Lance was the Minister of Magic and Cromwell Quince was an 87 year old man. You need a comma between Lance and Quince, Fawley! Otherwise you're turning these esteemed people into prostitutes! I don't care if you get a spell-checking quill or learn basic English grammar, just get it right!" Scorpius sat back in his chair and released a tortured sigh. "Switch with me, Weasley, I can't read this crap anymore."

And he looked so uncharacteristically defeated that I found myself handing over Roy's notes without a second thought.

* * *

"Alright, I'm off," Roy swung his backpack over a shoulder. "Are you coming back to the Common Room, Rose?"

I froze in the middle of packing up my books. Did I want to walk all the way from the library back to the Gryffindor Common Room with Roy? Did I want to endure seven flights of stairs and long empty hallways of awkward conversation? Hell no. I plastered a smile on my face. "Oh, don't wait for me!"

"No, it's not a problem at all!" Roy replied amicably, "I feel like I haven't had a proper conversation with you in ages."

He felt like he hadn't had a proper conversation with me in ages? Maybe that was because he broke up with me and got a new girlfriend two weeks later! And now he suddenly missed my company? _The nerve._ "Oh, I have to ask Fenton something about our project, so you go first!"

"Are you sure?" Roy persisted.

"Yes, positive," I bit out, the false cheer in my voice acquiring an edge.

Roy lingered a moment longer. "Okay then, I guess I'll see you back at the Tower then."

I twitched my lips into some simulation of a smile.

I watched his retreating back and breathed a sigh of relief when he finally disappeared around the corner.

I turned to see Fenton looking at me curiously. "You wanted to ask me something?'

I flushed. "Uh, yeah… about that…" I racked my brains for a believable question, but came up with nothing. I sighed, "Can I be frank with you, Fenton?"

Fenton raised his eyebrows. "Always."

I dropped into the seat opposite him. "Well…I just didn't want to walk all the way back to Gryffindor Tower with Roy."

Fenton's brow creased for a moment before clearing. "Ah, yeah," he looked at me sympathetically. "I wouldn't either."

I sighed again.

"So you do care a little bit," Fenton observed, not unkindly.

"Just a little," I admitted.

"He's a funny one, that Wilden," Fenton remarked. "You think he's a good guy- he actually took the time out to explain why he didn't put me on the Quidditch team, much nicer than James, really let me down easy, gave me some things to work on… and then he does things like date a new girl two weeks after dumping his girlfriend of what, two years?"

"One and a half," I corrected, "and he broke up with me because he already had feelings for Felicity."

"What, so technically he was doing the right thing?" Fenton asked.

I looked at him helplessly. "Well, wasn't that the right thing to do? What else could he have done? Cheated on me?"

Fenton thought about this for a moment before making a noise of dissatisfaction. "Maybe that's what is off about him, he's just too damn perfect."

"That's what gets me!" I exclaimed, "You can't even hate him! I mean, I hate him for breaking my heart, but at the end of the day, I can't find any specific characteristic I can tear him to pieces with."

"Ugh," Fenton shook his head in disgust. "Me, for example, I'm extremely affluent and I have great style, but…" Fenton took a moment to think. "I don't know how to use commas."

I laughed. "And I know how to use commas and like to think I'm a decent human being, but…"

"You care too much about your grades," Fenton finished for me with a wink.

"Then we have Scorpius Malfoy, who's intelligent and…" I bit my lip as I tried to come up another good quality. "Well, now that I think about it, his cheekbones are pretty fantastic…"

"But he has the worst personality ever," Fenton concluded with a decisive nod of his head. "See? We all make sense! It's how the world works!"

"But Roy…" I sighed. "He's the whole package, a genetic anomaly."

Fenton sat back in his seat in a huff. "Goddamn that Wilden."

"Goddamn him indeed," I agreed and we fell into comfortable silence as we dwelled on the infuriating perfection of Roy Wilden.

"Actually," Fenton interjected, "I remember one time in fourth year he accidentally dipped his tie into his porridge."

A grin spread across my face. "What a slob."

"I know, absolutely disgusting," Fenton replied seriously, shaking his head ruefully, "no consideration for personal hygiene at all."

I laughed. "Thanks Fenton."

He waved it off. "Now that I think of it though, I think Eugenia Evermonde was telling me that Wilden and Felicity broke up."

My eyes widened. "Really?"

Fenton gave me a look. "Should you be that excited?"

I attempted to tone down my grin, but the corners of my mouth kept lifting. I took a moment to put on a more serious face. "I mean, _really?"_

"Please don't tell me you still fancy him, Rose," Fenton sighed.

"I don't!" I replied earnestly. "Well… at least I don't think so, I hope I don't."

Fenton shook his head at me. "Anyway, she was saying that Wilden broke it off two weeks ago or something."

"Two weeks ago!" I exclaimed. Could it have been after our first meeting when Felicity came to get him for lunch? Did he break up with her the same way he broke up with me?

Fenton gave me another look.

I quickly rearranged my face into one of polite concern. "I mean, two weeks ago you say? How…interesting."

"Yes, very interesting…for you," Fenton replied sardonically.

"Anyway, what are you still here for? And where's Scorpius?"

Now it was Fenton's turn to sigh. "Scorpius was trying to explain the correct grammatical use of commas to me, but after I got it wrong the third time he kicked the table leg and stormed off."

I laughed and inspected the large scuff mark on the table leg Fenton gestured at. "Well, it's quite nice of him to actually try and explain it to you. I didn't expect that of him."

"I know," Fenton agreed. "But I almost prefer it when he isn't nice. Do you know how hard it is to try and put commas in the right place when you have Scorpius Malfoy staring you down?"

"Oh Merlin, I can't even imagine," I sympathised.

"I have never met a more unpleasant person! All he does is glare and yell!" Fenton exclaimed, he clearly had a lot on his chest. "Is he ever in a good mood?! Does he wake up every morning and smash his alarm clock into smithereens?"

"Who are you talking about?" A voice sounded from over our heads.

"Who are we talking about? Who else?" Fenton cried, then froze as he realised I hadn't said anything.

We both looked up slowly to see Scorpius Malfoy looming over us like a vampire about to take flight.

Fenton blanched. "Oh uh, um, we were talking about… someone…from another group." His eyes slid sideways shiftily.

"Yep," I confirmed hastily, "from another group…who yells a lot." Merlin help us, we couldn't have seemed shadier if we'd tried.

Fenton was visibly sweating, but Scorpius didn't bat an eyelid. "Well, it's lucky we don't have anyone like that in our group," he responded, his voice reasonable.

Fenton and I gawked at him for a moment before breaking out into false and ingratiating laughter.

"Yes, so lucky," I agreed, placing a hand on my chest in false gratitude. My heart pounded underneath my palm.

Fenton nodded rapidly. "So so lucky, how did we get so lucky?" The wide grin that stretched across his face did little to conceal the fear in his eyes and he looked like a sad clown. I hoped my expression was mildly more convincing.

But our obsequious behaviour was unnecessary, because Scorpius' attention had already been diverted by a couple who'd knocked a pile of books off our table as they headed towards the bookshelves to snog.

Scorpius' jaw locked. "This is a library, not a goddamn broom closet! GET A BLOODY ROOM!"

Heads turned in our direction, but Scorpius failed to gain the attention of the couple.

Scorpius crumpled up a piece of paper and piffed it at the pair. It was a good throw, but they were so far away that by the time the piece of paper reached them, it merely bounced softly off the guy's head.

"So lucky," Fenton whispered to me fearfully.

"Praise be to Merlin," I squeezed my eyes shut and clasped my hands together.

Scorpius glowered at them for a moment longer before turning back to us. "Anyway, sorry I took so long, Fawley, I was getting this." He handed a stunned Fenton a book.

My jaw dropped when I read the title, 'Cuthbert Cobcroft's Conspectus of Commas'.

Fenton looked up at Scorpius with a shocked laugh, "Wow, thanks, Malfoy. You didn't have to!"

Scorpius looked at Fenton wryly, "Yes, yes I did."

* * *

 _Well there's chapter two!_

 _Poor Fenton, I do sympathise with his plight. I myself struggle with commas from time to time, so please forgive me if there's a stray one every now and then!_

 _Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! L_ _et me know what you think :)_

 _Bumbledbee_


	3. Chapter 3: Factions form

"Your handwriting is atrocious."

I looked up to see Scorpius Malfoy gazing at my notes with an appalled expression on his face. "Excuse me?"

"You write like a ten year old boy," he continued with absolutely zero qualms about insulting me.

I looked at my writing. Sure it was a little spiky and uneven, but who was he to judge? "What's important is the substance and I can assure you, every word I write is sheer brilliance."

Scorpius let out a humourless laugh. "Right."

I narrowed my eyes at him and leant over to grab his notes. I scoffed in disbelief at his beautiful cursive letters. "And you write like an eighty year old woman."

"Thank you," Scorpius replied snippily. He reached for his parchment but I tugged it out of his grasp.

"Seriously, who can even read this?" I squinted my eyes at the words. "Sure it looks pretty, but at what cost?"

"People of sophistication. I wouldn't expect a peasant like you to understand." Scorpius snatched back his notes.

"Like I said, it's the substance that's important. You clearly have nothing worth writing about so you're hiding it all behind your floral lettering."

"Please Weasley, jealousy is most unbecoming."

"Me, jealous?" I exclaimed, "You're the one who insulted me first! Why would I be jealous of your handwriting anyway? What a waste of time, ink, and parchment."

"Alright, alright," Roy cut in, "You're both special in your own individual ways."

"Yes, mummy and daddy love you both regardless of your handwriting," Fenton cooed.

"Whatever," I sniffed. "I just didn't expect Scorpius Malfoy's handwriting to be so embellished and ostentatious."

"And I didn't expect Rose Weasley's handwriting to be so primitive. It honestly wouldn't be out of place inside a cave," Scorpius shot back.

We glared at each other.

"Don't act like you know me," we said at the same time.

"Don't copy what I'm saying," we said in unison again.

"You shut your mouth," I snapped.

"You shut yours first," Scorpius challenged.

"Why don't I shut it for you?" I lunged across the table, but Roy caught me by the waist and pulled me back into my seat.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "I shouldn't have been surprised that Rose Weasley writes like a caveman. You obviously enjoy resorting to caveman like methods."

"Please, I'm clearly a cavewoman, not a man," I retorted, rolling my eyes.

Scorpius snorted and I couldn't be sure, but I swear a flicker of amusement danced behind his steely grey eyes. "My mistake."

"Well, I'm glad we got that sorted," Roy interjected, "So back to History of Magic?"

* * *

"Magnus? Could I get my book back now? I have to go to class."

Magnus Marsh looked up at me. "Oh, yeah sure, just give me a minute."

That had been five minutes ago. I'd tried again, but he'd resolutely ignored me. Now I was hovering awkwardly over his shoulder in an attempt to convey my urgency.

I looked at the clock in the Study Hall, I had two minutes to get to Charms.

"Magnus, I need my book," I repeated a bit more forcefully. My foot tapped on its own accord.

Magnus' hand flew across the page as he copied notes from my textbook. "Yep, just let me finish this page."

I narrowed my eyes at his back.

 _This_ guy.

I was never lending him anything again.

"Magnus," I bit out.

"Uh huh," was the reply I received.

A book slammed from the other end of the table. I looked up to see Scorpius standing up forcefully from his seat and storm down the aisle. The next thing I knew, he had snatched the book from underneath Magnus and thrust it into my arms.

I gaped at him.

"What the hell?" Magnus yelped in outrage, "I'm trying to study here!"

Scorpius' eyes flashed. "So is the rest of the study hall, but how are we supposed to concentrate when all we can here is Rose Weasley ASKING FOR HER BOOK BACK!?" His anger increased the volume of his voice with each word until he ended on a bellow.

I stared at him in alarm and I wasn't even on the receiving end of his rage.

Heads turned and I flushed scarlet. What was the point of living in a magical castle if the floors didn't open up automatically when you were suffering from severe mortification?

"Sorry, I-" I began to apologise, but Scorpius shook his head at me.

"I didn't notice Rose at all," one brave soul remarked quietly to her friend.

"Me neither," the friend commented.

Scorpius silenced them swiftly with a glower.

"Well, you didn't have to manhandle me," Magnus huffed. "Look what you've done!" He showed us the harsh black line he'd accidentally drawn across his neatly written notes.

I didn't bother hiding my grin.

Scorpius glanced down at me, his mouth twitched. "Pity."

Magnus continued glaring at Scorpius indignantly. Did he really think he was going to get an apology out of him?

"Well, maybe next time you should rely on your own notes, instead of the ones Rose has written in her text book," Scorpius replied.

My eyes narrowed. Magnus Marsh, that little twit. I was really never lending him anything again.

"What?" Magnus spluttered, "I just forgot my own book is all!"

Scorpius rolled his eyes and turned to me. "Don't you have somewhere you need to be?"

"Oh right, yeah," I smiled at him and gratitude flushed away some of the embarrassment, "Thanks for that. Youdidn'thavetoyell, but thank you. I appreciate it." Then I dashed off before he could start an argument about whether yelling was necessary or not.

* * *

Roy's voice filtered out as I spotted Professor Liu approaching our table from the corner of my eye. I subconsciously sat up a bit straighter and fixed my hair.

"Hey guys, how's your project going along?" Professor Liu asked as he arrived at our table.

"Good, thanks!" I replied, smiling widely at him. I would never get tired of staring at that chiselled face.

"What's your topic again? Ah yes, the persecution of witches in the 14th century- interesting choice! Whose idea was it?"

"Rose's," Fenton replied.

Professor Liu turned to me and I was rewarded with the full force of his smile. "Great idea, Rose."

I flushed with pleasure. "Thank you, Professor!"

"Do you guys have any questions about the project?"

We shook our heads.

"Well, I'll move onto the next group then. You know where to find me if something comes up."

Yes, I did. I did indeed.

A quiet sigh escaped my lips.

"If you don't stop staring at him, you're going to start drooling," Scorpius' disdainful voice cut through my daydream.

My eyes snapped up to his. "What? I'm not drooling!" I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

"I didn't say you were drooling, I said you'd start if you didn't stop ogling at him," Scorpius drawled as he turned a page in his textbook.

Humph, who was he to judge me for ogling at Professor Liu? "Nothing wrong with appreciating the fine aesthetic of a masterful specimen," I responded archly.

"He's our professor," Roy chided disapprovingly.

I rolled my eyes. "Merlin, not this again. You always used to get jealou-"

Roy stared at me, his eyes wide, willing me to stop talking. Scorpius finally looked up at me, his eyebrows raised, waiting expectantly for me to finish my sentence. And Fenton… Fenton just looked entertained.

"I mean, you always used…" No, Rose, don't mentioned the past. "You… you said…" What had Roy said? I racked my brains, but I hadn't had a proper conversation with Roy for so long that I couldn't recall anything he'd said recently.

I turned to Scorpius. " _You_ said that History of Magic was your favourite class and hiring Liu was the best decision McGonagall ever made."

Scorpius' brows disappeared into his hairline at my sudden redirection. "That I did, but that doesn't mean I swoon at every word he says."

Bless his heart, Fenton stepped in. "I'm a heterosexual guy and even I don't mind looking at him. I've always wondered how he gets his hair to swoop so naturally in that direction."

I beamed at him. "You. That's why you're my favourite."

Fenton beamed back at me, and it only grew larger as he observed Roy and Scorpius' disgruntled faces. "Let's be honest here, we're the ones who are really carrying this group project."

"It's a thankless job, but someone has to do it." I nodded ruefully as if I had the weight of the world on my shoulders.

"Hey, I taught you how to use commas," Scorpius interjected indignantly, "and I got you your Charms book back."

Fenton and I looked at each other.

"Alright, you're in too," Fenton decided. He then turned to Roy, "I'm sorry, Wilden. But it's out of my hands. You're going to have to leave the group."

"Shall I go and inform Liu about this new development?" I jokingly stood up from my chair.

"No," Scorpius and Roy barked in unison.

Fenton laughed outright.

I sighed and shook my head at them. "Jealously is a very unbecoming quality. But don't worry, I'm sure you'll both grow up to be just as kind, intelligent, and successful as he is."

Roy sighed.

Fenton face palmed.

Scorpius looked at me like I was touched in the head.

Well, what was new?


	4. Chapter 4: It started with an eyelash

Depending on which way you looked at it, you could say that it started with an eyelash.

There I was at lunch, happily taking a gulp of my pumpkin juice when an eyelash decided it was time to fly free from its friends and descend into my eye. I choked on my juice and slammed my fist into the table, sending cutlery clattering. As I coughed and spluttered, my windpipe narrowly won the war with the pumpkin juice, but my eye was well and truly fighting a losing battle. I rubbed and tugged, but the eyelash refused to budge. With tears streaming from one eye, I launched myself from the table, ignoring concerned friends and bolted for the girls' bathroom.

As I torpedoed out of the Great Hall, I crashed into Scorpius Malfoy.

"Argh, sorry!" I gasped.

"Weasley?" I must've looked a complete wreck clutching one eye as tears streamed from it, because he actually seemed concerned. "What's wrong?"

"I'm okay, just eyelash in eye," I replied hurriedly before dashing away.

Apparently that didn't suffice as an explanation, because he immediately turned to follow me. "An eyelash, what?"

"In my eye," was all I offered him as I burst into the bathroom.

There were shrieks from the girls as Scorpius entered after me.

Was he crazy? Why had he followed me?! I didn't bother to turn to see his reaction as I rushed to a mirror and inspected my eye. Ah, there it was. The rogue eyelash. I used one hand to pry my eye open and the other to try and fish it out, but damn, it was an elusive bugger and kept floating away. I wiped away the tears with my sleeve before trying again, but only succeeded in nudging the eyelash towards my pupil and then it was a thousand daggers to the eye. "GAH," I cried, clawing at my eye and buckled over the sink.

Once I'd recovered sufficiently to reopen my eyes, I straightened up and took a deep breath. I saw Scorpius washing his hands out of the corner of my eye, what the hell was he doing? First he followed me into the girl's bathroom and now he was washing his hands?! What a creep! Please don't tell me he actually used the girls' toilets.

I leaned into the mirror to have another go when I felt a hand on my arm. "Here, let me."

My mouth fell open, but any protests died in my throat when Scorpius grasped my cheek and tilted my head upwards. He leaned in, brushing the hair away from my face. His hands were surprisingly gentle. "Do you mind?"

I shook my head, words weren't available to me in that moment. With a shock, I realised I had Scorpius' undivided attention for the first time. I stared unabashedly at him with my good eye. The usual distant look in his eyes was gone, replaced with a stormy look of intense concentration. He was so close; I could see the flecks of blue and green in his grey eyes.

Scorpius lifted my eyelid slightly and his finger descended upon my eye, but as soon as it made contact, I blinked.

"Sorry," I winced. "Go again, I'll keep my eye open this time."

"It's alright," Scorpius murmured, his lips barely moving. "Look up for me."

I did as I was told, I'd never heard him speak so softly before. I stood stock still, barely daring to breath.

"Got it," Scorpius moved away, showing me the eyelash on his finger.

I blinked once, twice, thrice. No pain. I left out a half sob, half laugh. A miracle. "Thank you! Oh Merlin, thank you!" I inspected my eye in the mirror and then did a little dance around the bathroom. "I can see again! You are a gift, Scorpius Malfoy, a gift! Thank you!"

Scorpius let out a chuckle. "No worries."

I froze mid twirl and stared. "Did you just smile? Did you just laugh?!"

It had barely been a quirk of the lips, but it opened up his entire face. He transformed from someone who I'd avoid making eye contact with, to someone I desperately wanted to be friends with.

Scorpius stared at me weirdly. "Yeah?"

"That's the first time I've ever seen you laugh," I exclaimed, my voice a little strangled. Call the Daily Prophet, Scorpius Malfoy had a dimple. This needed documenting. I needed a camera, a sketchpad, something, _anything_.

Scorpius gave me a look. "I've laughed before, Weasley, keep your hair on."

I continued to gawk at him.

Imagine if he smiled properly, sincerely. Imagine a full bellied laugh.

 _Damn_.

Maybe if was for the best that he never let that dimple out.

Scorpius rolled his eyes and handed me some tissues. "Just clean yourself up, Weasley," he said, sweeping out of the room before I could make any more embarrassing exclamations about his changed disposition.

I stared at his retreating back.

And then down at the tissues he'd given me.

And then to Delia Dalrymple who was gaping at the door from which Scorpius had exited.

She turned to me, eyes wide. "Who was that handsome man with the gentle hands and voice? Who was that with the heartbreaking smile? Was…was that Scorpius Malfoy?"

All I could do was nod slowly in disbelief.

Then we both squealed and dissolved into a fit of giggles.

"Rose!" Delia exclaimed when we'd both recovered. "Is there something going on between you two?"

"No, nothing!" I cried, "Nothing at all!"

"I have never seen him talk or act like that, ever. He actually seemed like a normal human being for once! Merlin, has he always been that attractive?"

"Right?" I replied incredulously, "It's not just me?!"

Then we just beamed at each other.

"Damn," Delia breathed, "If I wasn't with Arthur…"

I laughed. "Who knew all that was hiding behind that scowl of his!"

"I know…" Delia sighed longingly, "I've always thought his bone structure was to die for, but who would want to approach him when he looks like he's about to strangle you with his bare hands?"

"Way too scary," I agreed.

Delia turned to me with a gleam in her eye. "Girl, you better lock that shit down."

"What?"

"He's clearly interested in you; I've never seen him act like that around anyone else. Start dating him before word gets out that he actually has a functioning heart." Delia looked meaningfully at the fifth years gossiping by the cubicles.

"But…what?" I gasped, "You can't put that kind of pressure on me! I don't even know if I like him or not! I don't know if he actually even likes me either!"

Delia just beamed at me. "Eee, I'm so excited for you!'

"What, why?!" I cried, "Delia, you're moving way too quickly for me! I can't deal with this!"

She hugged me.

"Oh my God, Delia, stop!"

* * *

So Scorpius Malfoy had a shred of humanity in him after all. But had that been a rare display of compassion or just a momentary lapse in sanity, a glitch in his system?

Delia clearly thought he had a heart underneath all those layers of contempt, but she was a hopeless romantic.

I watched him now as he waited for the rest of the group to arrive. He was punctual if anything else. I observed him reclining his long body in his chair, flipping idly through his notes, trying to find a glimpse of the person I witnessed yesterday. But his eyes were as apathetic and aloof as they always were. No hint of the stormy intensity from yesterday. No shadow of a smile in sight.

Looking at him now from two tables away, he seemed as imposing as ever. Perhaps I dreamt the dimple.

"What are you staring at, Weasley?" Scorpius asked without looking up from his notes.

Busted.

How did he do that?

"Looking for your long-lost dimple," I replied, the shock of getting caught loosening my tongue.

 _That_ caused him to look up. "You sure you didn't imagine it, Weasley?"

I approached him, trying to discern whether it was amusement or irritation in his eyes. Possibly a mixture of both. "I've been asking that myself," I admitted. "But I don't think my imagination is that robust. Scorpius Malfoy and a dimple? You can't make that stuff up."

"It's been plaguing you, hasn't it," A statement, not a question.

It was definitely amusement dancing in his eyes.

"It just doesn't make sense," I continued, unabashed, "I'd greatly appreciate if you could confirm its existence."

If it was possible to grin without actually grinning, Scorpius was executing it perfectly. "I'm sorry, but that won't be possible."

"Why not?!" My exclamation contained more outrage than the situation warranted. Tone it down, Rose.

"Because then people might actually think I'm…"

"Nice?" I supplied incredulously.

"Exactly," Scorpius let out a long suffering sigh. "What a waste of this carefully cultivated image. No more first years scuttling out of my way, no more reserved seating in the Great Hall…they might not even save any croissants for me in the morning."

I stared at him.

"I'm joking, Weasley."

A small part of my soul detached itself from my body and drifted away. "Hah, right, yeah." I laughed weakly. "You jokester, you." I waggled my finger half-heartedly at him.

"Except for the croissants, I do love croissants," Scorpius continued, graciously ignoring my poor attempt at laughter.

"Me too," I couldn't help piping up.

Scorpius looked at me sardonically. "I know."

"What, how?"

"Did you forget that time you stole two croissants from the Slytherin table because Gryffindor had run out?"

I grinned sheepishly at the memory. "Oh yeah, right."

Scorpius looked out the window wistfully. "Poor Mindy Foskett had to go hungry that day. She did butter her croissant so nicely as well. Perfect croissant to butter ratio." He sighed, turning his gaze back onto me. "Alas, such is life."

I can't believe he stole a third year's food. I can't believe he was making me feel guilty about him stealing a third year's food.

"A joke, Weasley."

I slumped backwards into my seat and shook my head at him, the light in my eyes extinguished. I couldn't take this guy. Scorpius Malfoy was too much. Too bloody much.

"Jeez, maybe I _should_ smile more often."

"You really should," I croaked, a shadow of my former self.

"But it's so amusing watching you try and get it out of me."

I crossed my arms petulantly. "It's not fair, you've seen me smile tons of times!"

"It's not my fault you give it up so easily," Scorpius scoffed, returning to his book. "I never asked you to smile at me."

"Who said I was smiling at you," I sniffed. "You were clearly just spying on me as I smiled graciously at other people."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "I've still seen you smile though and I'm sure I will again before the day is out."

"But I've never smiled _at_ you, _for_ you, _because_ of you," I retorted, "and you have therefore never known the feeling of having such grace bestowed upon your miserable self."

That put a frown on his face. Hah, take that, Malfoy.

"Well, I've never properly smiled at you, for you, because of you either, and perhaps I never will."

My eyes glinted. "I'll take that as a challenge."

Scorpius regarded me, a dangerous gleam in his eyes. He reached out his hand. "First one to make the other smile."

I grasped Scorpius' hand and gave it a firm shake. "You're on."

"We're ten minutes late and you guys suddenly have a secret handshake?" Fenton asked, dumping his books next to me.

"Yes, we're extremely close," I replied seriously.

"How could we not be when we both love croissants?" Scorpius agreed.

I glanced at him and my face twitched. His eyes gleamed bright and I forced my mouth into a frown. It was weirdly thrilling to see an expression other than disinterest and disdain adorn his face. And for it to be directed at me.

I had to win.

"So Weasley," Scorpius continued as Roy left to borrow a book in a huff, "how's that eye of yours?"

"Good as new, thanks for asking," I replied, sending him a saucy wink to prove my point.

I was rewarded immediately, Scorpius' eyebrows shot upward. But he recovered quickly, "Did you just wink at me, Weasley? I think that's worth twice as much as a smile."

"Life's all about give and take," I responded coolly.

"You'll never get a wink from me."

"Only because you can't wink."

Scorpius narrowed his eyes at me. "That is a baseless assumption you'll never be able prove."

I leaned forward in my seat and met his gaze squarely. "I will prove it, just like I'll prove that dimple."

"Scorpius has a dimple?" Fenton looked up from his book.

"Spread that rumour around and neither of you will ever find out," Scorpius threatened, his voice icy.

"Nothing to be ashamed of," Fenton remarked, "I find dimples quite attractive. Don't you, Rose?"

I did, but how could I agree without letting Scorpius know that I found him attractive? I mean, IT attractive. IT being dimples. Merlin, help me. Even my own brain was rebelling.

"I don't mind a dimple," Great work, Rose. Short and simple. "In fact, I love dimples!" Oh bloody hell. "Especially ones on the right side of the cheek, just by the corner of the mouth." Loud ERROR foghorns blasted through my brain, but it was too late. The damage was done. I sealed my coffin with a second wink.

Why.

Why was I like this.

Scorpius was looking at me as if I'd gone crazy.

You and me both, buddy.

Please take it as a joke. Please. I was clearly joking. Rose Weasley, the class prankster. Common knowledge, right? RIGHT?

"Been dreaming about it, have you, Weasley?" Scorpius' pale eyes bore into mine, an eyebrow raised.

I thanked my lucky stars that he'd said 'dreaming about IT, and not me'. Small blessings.

I sighed deeply. "You got me, best night of sleep I ever had."

Scorpius' gaze intensified. "Care to share?"

I bit my lip. "I would, but…" I flicked my eyes sidelong at Fenton.

Fenton's eyes were practically bulging out of his head at this stage as they darted between us, his mouth hung slightly ajar.

It's okay, Fenton. I couldn't believe how audacious I was being either.

I looked back at Scorpius to see his stormy eyes alight, a fire on low heat simmering behind his pupils. My stomach dropped and I prayed that the warmth I was feeling behind my skin didn't transfer through.

A new expression yet again, I couldn't look away.

"What are you guys doing?" Roy returned with a stack of books, his presence dousing the fire immediately.

I tore my eyes from Scorpius and flushed a deep red. I released a breath I didn't realise I had been holding.

"Long story," Scorpius dismissed, the usual disengaged expression back on his face as if it had never left.

A bloody confusing story was what it was. One that I myself would've loved a detailed explanation on.

"Right, well here's a book about Wendelin the Weird that I thought might be relevant to your research, Rose." Roy handed me a heavy book.

I looked up at him in surprise. "Oh, thanks." I took the book, giving him a small smile.

My eyes darted to Scorpius to see him scowling at Roy and I quickly erased the smile off my face.

Maybe it would be wiser to continue the game at a later date.

I snuck a look at Roy who was scribbling rather furiously on his parchment.

Or perhaps not continue it at all.


	5. Chapter 5: Cracking the Code

Giggling interrupted the sound of pages flipping and murmured discussion. The conspiratorial kind that one often associated with teenage girls. Fenton turned in his seat to identify the cause of the noise and then started tapping me on the shoulder frantically.

"Ow." I looked up from my book, slapping his hand away. "What?"

Fenton's gaze didn't shift. "You have to see this."

I swivelled to see Scorpius walking towards us with the usual disinterested look on his face and then zoned in on the trio of girls huddled amongst the bookshelves. I narrowed my eyes, were they the fifth year girls from the bathroom the other day?

I didn't have to wait to wonder what they were up to, because with the practiced poise of a damsel in distress, one of the girls tripped out from behind the shelves and stumbled into Scorpius. It was complete with an adorable gasp.

I made a sound of disgust. "Is she for real?"

Fenton just sniggered into his fur scarf.

Roy was shaking his head. Thank you, at least someone appreciated the absurdity of the situation.

Scorpius caught her. Of course, he did.

"Oh, thank you so much," she gushed, staring up at him with big blue eyes.

I vomited a little in a mouth.

Scorpius looked down at the girl in his arms as if wondering how she got there.

Another giggle tinkled through the library and Scorpius' eyes flickered to the two heads poking out from behind the bookshelf. His furrowed brow flattened out as he bypassed disinterest and went straight to annoyance and disdain.

"No problem," Scorpius said, before releasing her and walking away as if nothing had happened. As if the girl hadn't stumbled and then fallen onto the floor.

My jaw dropped and Fenton let out an audible guffaw. Roy continued shaking his head in disbelief.

Fenton started a slow clap as Scorpius arrived at our table. "All hail the King of Chivalry. Romance is alive, folks!"

I dropped my head into my hands. You couldn't take Fenton anywhere.

"I'll show you what _won't_ be alive," Scorpius threatened as he descended upon Fenton.

I winced. You couldn't take Scorpius anywhere either.

In fact, the only member I could trust to not embarrass me was Roy and I sure as hell didn't want to be with him anywhere.

A whimper brought us back to the situation at hand. "It's my wrist," the girl whispered to her friends who fussed over her quietly.

I glanced over at Scorpius, but his face was unreadable.

"Well, I guess it's her fault for falling into you in the first place," Fenton offered.

Scorpius didn't respond.

There was laughter. The cruel kind. "Trust Sally to injure herself over a boy."

"And one that couldn't give two shits about her either!"

"Serves her right."

My mouth set in a hard line as I glared at the two boys sitting a table away.

Scorpius' fists clenched, his jaw locked. He looked like he was fighting an internal battle.

I exchanged a concerned look with Roy.

Abruptly, Scorpius stood up. His chair scraped loudly against the library floor.

Heads turned.

We all watched him as he stood there, eyes blazing.

Roy, Fenton, and I shied away involuntarily, bracing ourselves for the impending commotion.

Scorpius' gaze was intent on the gossipy boys. Oh Merlin, he was going to hand it to them. They were never going to talk badly about anyone again.

He was also probably going to get us kicked out the library.

Again.

But then, Scorpius flicked his eyes over to the girls.

Oh hell, he was going to yell at the girls? Sure, they'd made a fool of themselves, but they hadn't done anything cruel. I almost reached out to stop him.

Scorpius stomped over to the trio and barked two words: "Hospital Wing."

The girls looked up at him in surprise and fear.

Then he stalked out of the library with them trailing after him like ducklings.

We were left in his wake, our mouths all hanging open as if we were those laughing clowns people threw balls into at carnivals.

Scorpius Malfoy: full of surprises.

* * *

My eyes lit up as I spotted Scorpius studying on a lone desk by the window. So this is where his hide out was. Figures he'd choose the most secluded area in the entire library, there'd be no annoying chatter or nosy passer-bys, because who borrowed anything from the dusty Divination section? Truthfully, I'd only walked past because I'd spotted Felicity Spellson walking towards me and needed a quick detour.

An idea formed in my head as I watched Scorpius think, his eyes thoughtful as he looked into the distance. Without the usual annoyance painted onto his face, a smile didn't seem like such a farfetched idea. He almost looked like he could be a dreamy artist, considering what his next portrait should be. Or contrarily, the model posing for the artist.

Thoughtful he looked, but not for long.

I suppressed a snigger as I snuck up behind Scorpius. I knelt down silently behind his chair. "I will crack you," I whispered into his ear.

Scorpius stiffened.

I grinned behind the safety of his back.

Scorpius turned and I quickly erased any semblance of a smile, arranging my face into an imitation of his usual aloof expression.

This expression wavered when I realised how close his face was to mine. My mind flashbacked to the girls' bathroom, and without the pain of my renegade eyelash as a distraction, his proximity sent my heart racing.

"That's sweet, Weasley," Scorpius replied, his voice quietly condescending, and I swear his eyes dropped to my lips for a millisecond.

"Uh huh," I heard myself say, "I'm very sweet."

Oh, how quickly glee became trepidation became regret. Spontaneity was best left to the experts.

Before I could stand up and give myself some distance, Scorpius cupped my cheek with the palm of his hand. My eyes went wide. The warmth of his hand on my skin, the tenderness of this action, I forgot how to breathe. I opened my mouth to ask what he was doing, to make a witty quip that would put him in his place, but my brain kept snagging on one irrational thought: was Scorpius Malfoy about to kiss me? His gaze was intent on my lips. A gleam of curiosity peeked through his lowered eyelids. My pulse jump started. Now would be the time to do something, anything. Lean in, close my eyes if I wanted to be kissed. Move away if I didn't. It should have been a simple choice. I should've jerked away immediately, I shouldn't have even considered it. He was a member of my group, he was the grumpiest, scariest person I knew, he was Scorpius Malfoy. I willed myself to play it cool, brush him off, slap his hand away. But I found that I couldn't move. I didn't dare move. The milliseconds ticked by in breathless silence and I stayed stock still. I tried not to lean my cheek into the palm of his hand as leprechauns somersaulted in my stomach.

Then, in the time it took for me to blink, the gleam in his eyes disappeared. Unreadable once again. Scorpius brushed his thumb underneath my eye.

"Eyelash." Scorpius dropped his hand from my face and turned back in his seat.

I was left kneeling behind him, heart pounding and skin ablaze. What was he playing at?

All I'd intended was to crack a joke, to see if I could edge a smile out of him, and this is what I got?

Okay, so maybe I'd opened with a threat, but it was friendly! A friendly, jokey threat.

I swayed on my knees. Never had the library floor looked so appealing. Oh, to keel over and flop bonelessly onto the old carpet!

A luxury I couldn't afford.

I stood up a little unsteadily, took a breath, and marched around to sit opposite him.

Two could play a game.

"Thanks, can always count on you when it comes to eyelash welfare."

Scorpius looked up from his essay. "Yep. That's me, captain of the neighbourhood eyelash watch."

My mouth twitched at the image of Scorpius in a dorky cap, marching around with a clipboard and knocking on people's doors to inspect their eyelashes. "What do you know? Scorpius Malfoy, more than just an angry face."

"I've also been told my shoulder is wonderful to have a cry on and that my apple pie is to die for."

My eyebrows shot up. "Really?" I couldn't disguise the intrigue in my voice.

"No," Scorpius replied flatly and went back to his essay.

"Oh." I deflated, finally pulling out my books and writing utensils.

We worked in silence before I couldn't help myself and said, "I have a theory." I didn't wait for him to reply before continuing, he could feign nonchalance all he wanted, I knew he was listening. I leaned forward in my seat, whispering, "I think you're secretly nice."

Scorpius paused in his writing for a moment, but then continued without deigning to respond.

"I think you _have_ been told that you're a wonderful shoulder to cry on, and that your apple pie really is to die for."

"Are you sure you aren't just feeling a bit peckish, Weasley?"

I ignored him. "My question is though, why would you hide the fact that you're nice?"

"Don't get your hopes up, Weasley. I'm not nice. You're reading too far into this."

I snapped my fingers. "You're right! You're not nice." I almost let out a chuckle at the memory of him yelling at Fenton about commas, but checked myself before my lips could quirk upwards. "You're not nice at all, but you are kind."

Something flickered in his eyes and he stared at me. I think, in that moment, I did crack him, just a little. Did he not realise that he was a decent person? Sure, he had a horrible temper and no qualms about scaring the shit out of people, but he was never cruel. In fact, underneath layer upon layer of disdain and irritation, he was good to the core.

"You're…you're too good for me, Rose Weasley," Scorpius said so quietly I almost missed it.

"Too good?" I asked in astonishment.

Scorpius' brows drew together. "Misunderstood. I said you've misunderstood me, Weasley."

I stared at him.

I've never seen anyone pack up their books so quickly in my life. In an instant, his side of the table was clear and he stood, ready to leave.

I opened my mouth to speak and he must have sensed that I was about to refute his claim, because he chose that moment to bat my book off the table.

We both stared at my poor Transfiguration textbook now lying face down on the floor, and then back up at each other. My mouth twitched. His lips twisted.

"Stop overthinking, Weasley," Scorpius ordered, and with that parting statement, he swept out of the library.

I watched him leave, finally allowing a smile to dance across my lips.

Scorpius Malfoy: in denial.

* * *

"I did some notes on the Flame-Freezing Charm, here."

"Thanks." Scorpius took my notes, then winced, shaking his head. "Man, your handwriting, seriously."

I put down my book and glared at him. "Are we really doing this again?"

"No, but I'd forgotten what an eyesore it was." Scorpius rubbed his eyes and returned to my notes.

I pursed my lips. "Well, at least my handwriting is legible."

"Wow, we really are doing this again."

"Look, I don't want to say it, but you started it."

Scorpius sighed, "Sorry, I'd just forgotten how wonky it was and it was a bit of a shock."

My eyes narrowed. "Not helping."

Scorpius held up his hands in surrender and went back to my notes.

We continued working in silence until Scorpius broke it. "Your notes are really great."

I raised an eyebrow. "But?"

"Imagine how much better it would be if it was written neatly."

I stared at him. He really wasn't going to let this go, was he? "So, what? You want me to change my handwriting after a decade?"

When he didn't respond, I sighed. "You're not the first person to try and correct my handwriting, Malfoy, and I'm sure you won't be the last."

"I don't want to correct it, just tweak a little here and there."

"Sure, okay," I relented, sitting back in my chair. With Roy at Quidditch practice and Fenton in the Hospital Wing with a sniffle, there was no knowing how long we would spend debating the point. "Whatever it takes for you to stop harping on about it. Give it your best shot."

Scorpius pulled out a clean piece of parchment, dipped his quill into the ink and wrote a swirly 'S'. He handed the quill to me.

I sighed and copied the 'S'.

He wrote a 'c', I wrote a 'c'. He wrote an 'o', I copied the 'o'.

"Are you making me write your name, Malfoy?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, nothing. You're the teacher, you do you."

Scorpius balked when he looked at my finished product. "You have butchered my name," he exclaimed, his voice hushed in horror.

I looked at him insolently.

Scorpius slid a new piece of parchment towards me. "Again."

"This is kind of weird," I commented after writing his name five times in a row.

"Yeah, sorry. Should've gotten you to write your own name instead," Scorpius admitted. "It was just the first thing I thought of. Here." He wrote my name with a flourish.

Something tugged at my stomach. Of course, Scorpius knew my name. Of course, he knew how to spell my name. But still, watching Scorpius Malfoy write 'Rose Weasley' in his cursive script sent an entirely unwarranted thrill up my spine.

"You give it a go," Scorpius encouraged.

I looked at the swirls and loops in his version of my name and hesitated. "Nah, I think I'll stick to your name for now. I'm only just getting the hang of it."

Scorpius shrugged. "Suit yourself."

I smirked. "Then I can forge it whenever I like."

Scorpius scoffed. "Please. Judging by your current progress, you'll never be able to do my signature even if you manage to master writing my name."

I glowered at him and returned to copying his name with renewed vigour. Scorpius Malfoy Scorpius Malfoy Scorpius Malfoy. I'd show him.

"Seriously, do I need to draw lines for you?"

I gritted my teeth and forcefully dipped my quill into the ink twice before returning to the parchment now filled with his name.

I took special care as I reached the last corner of the parchment. This one would be a beauty. As I finished the last 'y' with a flourish, I held up the parchment triumphantly only to see Scorpius smiling softly at me.

My forehead furrowed. "What are you smiling at?"

As the smile dropped off Scorpius' face, something bigger occurred to me.

"You're smiling!" I exclaimed, eyes gleaming. "Yes! I won! I won!" I punched the air. I gave him my most dazzling smile. It was liberating to do so after repressing so many in his presence.

Scorpius stared at me for a moment before shaking his head ruefully. "Bloody hell." But I guess smiling was contagious because the corners of his lips lifted as well. His eyes crinkled and that dimple and damn, damn, damn. How did a guy transform from looking like punching Pygmy Puffs was part of his daily routine, to someone who might buy you a Pygmy Puff for your birthday?

Scorpius broke my gaze. "Well, congratulations."

I sighed happily. "Thank you, thank you very much. You were a worthy opponent, but in the end, there could only be one winner…wait a minute. You never answered my question. What made you smile?"

Scorpius opened his mouth and then closed it again.

The smile slid off my face. "Don't do this."

Scorpius grinned. "Would you believe me if I told you that I was simply pleased with your progress?"

"No."

"Well, that's good, because I wasn't. Wouldn't want you to think that you could actually pass off your handwriting as mine." Scorpius held up the parchment for me to see. "This 'p', for example. What's with the weird stem? If I didn't know my own name, I'd think I was Scorbius Malfoy."

My eyes narrowed. "Nice try, Malfoy. Why the smile?"

"Why the smile…" Scorpius repeated to himself thoughtfully, tapping his chin.

"Is it that secret?"

"No, I just don't feel like telling you." Scorpius shrugged.

My mouth fell open. "Why not?"

"Now that's a secret." Scorpius grinned wolfishly.

I expelled a sigh of long suffering.

"You gotta let a guy keep some of his dignity."

I shook my head at him sullenly. "You are the worst."

The corner of Scorpius' mouth kicked up. "All part of my charm."

What charm? I started to say, but you know what they say, the best defence is a good offence! "You know, I really don't think you can wink. If there was ever an opportunity to wink, that would've been it."

"What, like this?" Scorpius asked, and then he winked. It was accompanied by a wicked quirk of his mouth. And then topped off with a smirk and a downright sinful glint in his eyes.

My heart stuttered.

"Oh dear, I've gone and shocked you."

Shocked me. Yes. Shocked my heart.

Needed warning.

No warning.

Ugh.

But I supposed I deserved it for provoking him.

"Well…" I began, my voice faint as I scrambled to get my thoughts back in order. "Well, well done. Yes, you can certainly wink. Very… well done."

I watched Scorpius watch me, the corners of his mouth lifting as he shook his head. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," I replied with as much dignity as I could muster.

"I guess we're even then."

I shot him a questioning glance.

"You made me smile, but turns out, I can wink. We're even."

"Well," I gained some bluster back, "technically, we never agreed that winking was a competition. It was just a side… salad."

"A side salad?" Scorpius was understandably confused.

"Yes, just some inconsequential leaves of lettuce." Oh dear, I should really stop talking, the wink had clearly addled my brains beyond repair.

"I see." Scorpius nodded in understanding. "And I supposed the smile was the main course? A hearty steak, you might say?"

My eyes narrowed. "You're taking the piss."

"Well, it's not every day your wink is described as a side salad."

"Yes, well… you're welcome." I furrowed my brow at myself, what was I even saying anymore?

"So now it's a compliment?" Scorpius needed clarification, I didn't blame him.

"Oh, I don't know, just leave me to die in peace." I slumped over on the table.

"Leave you to die? How can I leave you to die when I've just discovered you're so partial to a good wink?"

I shut my eyes. "Oh Merlin, just stop."

Scorpius didn't respond and for a second I'd thought he'd taken mercy.

"Hey Rose."

My eyes snapped open at their own accord, it wasn't everyday Scorpius Malfoy called you by your first name.

The bastard winked again.

My stomach clenched and I shut my eyes again, head dropping back onto my arm. It didn't help that I was no longer looking at him, the image of Scorpius winking was burned into my brain. This one was all the more devastating because of his delighted laugh as he received my reaction.

"Oh Rose." Scorpius placed a hand on my shoulder, still chuckling. "This is why you're so great."

"Why?" I mumbled into my arm. "Cause I'm easy bait?"

"Exactly." Scorpius fairly beamed at me. "I'm learning so much about you."

I grunted.

"For example," Scorpius continued, "I didn't know you were vegetarian."

I turned my face to him. "Huh?"

"Well, I'm just assuming seeing as you love salad so much."

"Oh for the love of Merl-"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I'll stop now." Scorpius held up his hands. He couldn't seem to wipe the grin off his face though.

Funny how I'd spent the past few days trying to drag a smile out of him and now all I wanted to do was wipe the shit-eating grin off his face.

Scorpius Malfoy: not to be trifled with.

* * *

 _A/N:_

 _Hey everyone!_

 _So, this is random, but I feel like you guys will understand._

 _The other night, I was having dinner with friends when I casually mentioned something funny I'd read on Tumblr. One of my friends then proceeded to ask, "What's your Tumblr? I'll add you."_

 _Time stood still as I froze in horror, seconds ticked past, finally I let out a strangled, "No, sorry, I can't give it to you." Then of course, they were all like, "Oooooooohhh, what? Why?" And I was dying inside as I repeated that I just couldn't give it to her. And oh my God, you should've seen their faces. The intrigue, the excitement, the curiosity; insatiable. I explained that "I write stuff". That then set them off guessing what kind of stuff I write, but fanfiction didn't even crop up as a guess and I couldn't bear to bring it up myself._

 _And I don't want to keep secrets from my friends, but even if I told them what type of writing it was, they'd still want to read it and I don't think I could bear the thought of them reading even my most recent stories, let alone giving them access to my old stuff._

 _So yeah, now my friends think I have this secret life on the internet. Which, I kind of do, but not really. The whole situation makes me laugh and headdesk simultaneously._

 _I'll probably tell them one day._ _Maybe._

 _What do you guys think? Do your friends know that you read/write fanfiction? Would you tell them? I'd love to know your thoughts._

 _Anyway!_

 _I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And thank you so much to all of you who have reviewed this story. I appreciate it more than you can know. On days when I need a pick me up, I check my inbox in the hope that there might be a review to brighten up my day. So, thank you!_

 _Much love,_

 _Bumbledbee_


	6. Chapter 6: Or did it start with a party?

Depending on how you looked at it, you could say it started with a party.

And not just any party, Fenton Fawley's coming of age birthday party. An event he made sure everyone and their house elf knew about.

Well, everyone except the professors that is.

The Room of Requirement was already pulsating when Delia and I arrived. I had to blink several times before my eyes adjusted to the flashing lights. I took in the lavish gold décor and tried not to wince as the pounding music reverberated through my entire body. Fenton had gone all out. Still, even he couldn't mask the smell of alcohol mingled with sweat that seemed to be a staple at every party.

I followed Delia in before promptly colliding with her back.

Without taking her eyes off whatever stopped her in her tracks, she inclined her head towards me and asked, "Did Scorpius Malfoy just do a body roll?"

My head turned so fast I cricked my neck, my mouth already stretched out in a grin, ready to laugh at the spectacle. But any laughter died in my throat as my eyes found Scorpius on the dance floor.

My mouth went dry as I gawked at him from across the room.

Someone his height should not have been able to move so sensually. Someone with his jawline should not have been allowed to bite his lip like that. Someone with piercing grey eyes should not have been allowed to dance with such wicked intent glinting in them.

Someone with such a surly disposition should not have been able to ignite a fire in my belly that rapidly.

Who did he think he was, moving his hips around like he was some sort of sex god?

"I can't look away," Delia said, her voice hushed.

"Me neither," I replied, equally mesmerised.

One half of me desperately wanted to be on the dance floor with him. The other rational half said it would be much better, much safer, that I stayed far, far away.

But what would it be like to have his hands on my hips, to feel his heat behind me, to grind back-okay, enough, Rose.

"Hey Rose, Delia." Roy joined us, breaking the spell.

"Roy." I turned, finally tearing my eyes away. "Hi."

"Crazy, right?" Roy remarked following our gaze.

"Yeah…crazy," I echoed.

"He's drunk," Roy clarified.

"Ah." I nodded. "That would explain it."

"Should get him drunk more often it gets him to dance like that," Delia commented. "Anyway, I'm going to find Arthur, see you guys later!"

We watched her wriggle her way through the crowd.

"Remember when James tried to do the worm at the Gryffindor victory party and broke his nose?" Roy asked.

I laughed. "Oh Merlin, yeah. And Fenton tried to fix it for him but ended up almost taking out his eye."

"Then somehow it was up to us, as it always was, to take him to Madame Pomfrey and try to explain the injury without actually explaining what happened." Roy shook his head. "She saw right through us."

I snorted. "One bat of those eyelashes of yours though, and she was willing to overlook any misdemeanours."

"She is a wonderful woman," Roy said reverently, placing a hand on his heart.

I let out a bark of laughter. "And that time when we got caught covering for Fred while he was stealing ingredients from the potions cupboard, but Professor Liu let us off, because we're…"

"Us?" Roy supplied.

I met his eye and we both burst out laughing.

"And that time when I was trying and failing to comfort Lily because Simon Shortall rejected her, and then you come along and one word from you and she's all better."

And that time when I missed a week of classes because I was sick and you compiled all the notes from classes I'd missed. When you visited me every day and brought me my favourite books to read.

When you swept me up in a sweaty hug after you won the Quidditch House Cup and said seeing me cheering in the crowd gave you courage.

When you turned those warm chocolate eyes at me and smiled at me with unbridled affection.

When you told me I was wonderful and that you loved me.

And when you told me that you didn't.

…

Oh boy.

"Well!" I clapped my hands together, mustering up a tight grin and trying to ignore the knots twisting in my stomach. "Time sure does fly. I'm going to get myself a drink, bye!"

I turned on my heel and dove headlong into the crowd, heedless of what Roy thought about the sudden departure and where I was going.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I found myself pulled into a conversation with a group of prefects who seemed to think that wearing their prefect badges was a 24 hour duty. Nevertheless, the Firewhisky was flowing and conversation was lively. Lively enough that a few nods from me counted as contributing to the conversation. Most importantly, within the safety of my circle of nerdiness, I could ogle at Scorpius in peace.

Gorgeous Scorpius whose grey eyes smouldered with dangerous promise. A promise that if given the chance, he'd show you that nice was boring. Boring, bland, and vanilla. You could do so much better than nice.

But even more dangerous was shifting my gaze a little past Scorpius, just enough to spot the other hungry eyes surreptitiously staring at the object of my attention. And then a different heat flared in my gut. A toxic, vindictive stab that said, MINE.

The shock of emotion was enough for me to rip my eyes away. Merciful Merlin, what was that all about? I had no problem with ogling at a good looking lad, and a good looking lad who knew how to move no less. Hell, I made no effort to hide my attraction to Professor Liu, but this…dare I say it, jealousy, was not okay. I could deal with harmless attraction, but that flash of possessiveness was a different story altogether.

I needed a distraction, quickly, anything would do. Thankfully at that moment, a pair of arms thrust through a group of bodies, dividing the crowd. Given how the night was panning out, I shouldn't have been surprised to see that one set of those arms belonged to Fenton Fawley. Still, I shook my head in disbelief as Fenton emerged with a languid lunge and swift snap of his head. He then executed a complicated set of footwork before charging in a different direction with his partner, nose stuck in the air, perfectly oblivious to the other people on the dance floor. I couldn't help but let out a bark of incredulous laughter. What was next? Roy jeté-ing across the floor? Was my entire group a troupe of gifted dancers?

But before I could dwell on my abysmal lack of talent, I spotted Scorpius walking in my general direction. My heart leapt, this was my chance! My chance at what I didn't know, but I had to get his attention. And before any of those vultures sunk their claws into him. How did I get his attention though? Prostrating myself at his feet was the obvious choice after witnessing his magnificence on the dance floor. Regrettably, this was impossible with so many people milling around and broken glass and whatever else.

I settled for a wave.

"Rose!" Scorpius' face lit up. "Where have you been?" He slung an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close.

I laughed against his chest and a flash of excitement shot through me. My body on his body. Exhilarating.

Also, drunk Scorpius was affectionate, who would've thought?

"I've been around," I responded, playing it cool. "Where have you been?"

Scorpius waved his wrist around non-committedly. "Around."

"I didn't know you could dance."

Scorpius looked down at me, his face unreadable. "There are a lot of things you don't know, Rose Weasley."

I furrowed my brow. "Like what?"

"Many things, many things," he repeated absentmindedly.

"Well, did you know that you have amassed a flock of admirers?"

"What?" A look of faint horror passed over Scorpius' face.

"All that dancing, you see. Highly impressive," I explained.

"You think I'm impressive, Weasley?"

"Well," I blustered, "only regarding the fact that you still seem to be able to string a few moves together considering how drunk you are."

"Bullshit, Weasley. You were impressed." The grin on his face was wicked.

"Oh, please." I valiantly fought back a blush.

"You should've joined me. We could have danced," he leaned in conspiratorially, "together."

The fact I still had enough wits about me to roll my eyes was cause for major celebration. "You are…" incorrigible, violently attractive, insufferable, downright gorgeous, way too close to me, "drunk."

"And you are lovely." Scorpius bopped me on the nose lightly.

Lovely. Scorpius thought I was lovely. My heart sang. Sure, he could've thrown out a beautiful or a wonderful, but I'd never been called lovely before. What did lovely even mean? Irrelevant, I'd take it.

I rolled down a neutral expression. I couldn't have my heart shining out of my eyes, even an intoxicated Scorpius would notice.

"See?" I pointed out, "Drunk. Sober Scorpius would never say something like that."

"Sober Scorpius is an idiot," Scorpius dismissed with a wave of his hand. "I apologise for his stupidity."

"How come you're so drunk anyway?" I poked his chest.

"Firewhisky Pong," Scorpius sighed, looking mournfully over at the students still playing.

I snorted, figures. "Never thought you'd be into that kind of thing."

"Wilden and his mate challenged me and Fenton to a match and I couldn't turn him down."

"Sure you could, you just say no."

"Like I said, you don't know many things, Rose."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, so you lost?"

"False! We Won!" Scorpius' eyes gleamed. "But then others challenged us and we were champions…until we weren't."

"Until your mind started going fuzzy and your hand eye coordination started slipping."

Scorpius rubbed the back of his neck. "Something like that. But my mind's not that fuzzy, I still know things."

I raised a sardonic eyebrow. "Of course you do, and what things might they be?"

Scorpius shifted his weight as he pondered this question. "I know…that you eat croissants for breakfast every day."

I laughed, not so impressed that he knew that I ate croissants everyday as much as the fact that he remembered it at that current moment.

"And that you have it with a different filling every day," Scorpius continued.

My eyebrows shot for my hairline.

"Bacon and eggs on Monday, strawberry jam and butter on Tuesday, orange marmalade on Wednesday, chocolate spread on Thursday, ham and cheese on Friday, eggs on Saturday, and plain on Sunday." Scorpius counted off the days on his fingers as if he was explaining the rules of Quidditch.

My jaw hung unhinged, it may or may not have swayed in the breeze.

"How?" I croaked when I had recovered sufficiently from the shock.

"Through my powers of observation."

I gawked at him, floundering as I grappled with the warmth creeping into my heart. "But, I don't think even Delia knows that and she sits next to me every morning."

Scorpius shrugged. "I told you, I know things."

"I don't know if that's creepy or…" I scrambled to think of a word other than romantic, "nice."

Scorpius made a noise of dissatisfaction. "I told you, Rose, I'm not nice."

"So, you're creepy?"

Scorpius thought about this for a moment. "Probably."

I patted him on the shoulder. "The first step to recovery is acceptance."

Scorpius nodded as if this made sense. "Thanks, Rose."

I grinned at him. "You can count on me."

Scorpius' face turned thoughtful. "Well, then can I tell you a secret?"

My eyes lit up, drunken secrets, my favourite. "Of course, you can."

Scorpius leaned in close and whispered, "You're my favourite."

I shivered slightly at the feeling of his warm breath against my ear. "Well of course I am, I'm way better than Fenton or Roy."

Scorpius' forehead creased. "No, you're my favourite," he insisted.

I chuckled, bemused. "Okay, you're my favourite too."

His face broke out into such a delighted smile, my heart melted a little. It wasn't every day you got to see Scorpius Malfoy smiling so guilelessly.

Scorpius patted me on the head before dropping his hand down to cup my cheek. "Rose Weasley," he said softly. Was it just me or was there a hint of yearning in his voice?

I looked up at him, eyes curious. "Scorpius Malfoy."

And without further warning, he dipped his head down and caught my mouth with his. I froze as my insides turned to molten liquid and my skin was set ablaze. The blaring music disappeared, the sound of people shouting over the music disappeared. My entire world was reduced to this single moment, to the sensation of his lips on mine. Scorpius Malfoy was kissing me. And I mean, really kissing me.

I hesitantly moved my lips an inch, my senses in overdrive. But there were people everywhere. Oh Merlin, there must be people watching us. I should push him away. Scorpius was drunk. This was so wrong. He didn't know what he was doing. Scorpius moved his mouth against mine and I sighed into it. Oh Merlin, I liked it. I bloody liked it. How could I push him away when it felt so good? Who knew when I'd get another chance to kiss Scorpius Malfoy? Merlin, was I taking advantage of him? Scorpius pulled my body flush against his and oh, the feeling of my body against his. My arms went instinctively around his neck. Then he did something with his tongue and my brain short-circuited. Sod it all. Scorpius Malfoy was a bloody good snog and hell if I wasn't going to make the most of it.

Minutes, or it could've been hours later, he pulled away and rested his forehead on mine. I clung onto him desperately, my legs couldn't be trusted. His eyes were half lidded but bright. "I've been wanting to do that for a while."

And if I hadn't already been completely breathless, I definitely was now. "What?" I panted.

Scorpius just smiled and dropped a chaste kiss onto my forehead, snuggling me into his chest.

I looked up at him, my heart racing. "What do you mean you've been wanting to do that for a while?"

"Thought it was pretty self-explanatory," Scorpius responded, his voice a little husky.

"How long?" I croaked.

"Scorp! Oi, Scorp!" We turned to see Colin Gracechurch waving at us. "Settle something for us, will you?"

Our little bubble popped. I crash-landed back into to the Room of Requirement filled with loud music and drunk students. But it was too soon, I wanted to stay encircled in his arms forever.

My dismay must have shown on my face, because Scorpius smiled and tucked a stray hair behind my ear. "I'll be back."

He released me and I watched him go, the warmth of his embrace disappearing along with the post kiss bliss. A sudden, irrational wave of melancholy washed over me.

Well that was that.

Just another drunken kiss at a party. A drunken kiss with Scorpius Malfoy. Would he even remember in the morning? Did I want him to remember in the morning? I closed my eyes and relived the kiss. Not just a drunken kiss at a party. This kiss felt different, intimate.

But who was I kidding? Scorpius was plastered.

But Merlin, if I was this enamoured after a drunken snog, what would a real kiss be like?

And what had he meant, he'd been wanting to do that for a while now? What was that little cuddle at the end? That was not typical drunken snog behaviour. I clutched my face with my hands, my heart was racing in one direction and my brain in another.

It was one thing to discover that you enjoyed kissing someone that you hadn't even liked until a couple of weeks ago. Another thing completely when images of you and said person snuggling up together, spending days and nights together invaded your mind and suddenly had your heart yearning. I looked over at Scorpius making his way through the crowd and another explosion of affection for him burst in my chest. I hugged my hands to my body. Fear and desire collided. I needed to get a grip.

"You okay, Rose?" Delia touched my shoulder. "Do you need a glass of water?"

Yes. A glass of icy water over my head. And my heart.

I turned and seized her shoulders. "I just kissed Scorpius Malfoy. Or he kissed me, rather."

Delia's jaw dropped. "And?"

I pulled her close. "It was good. Too good."

"Too good?" Delia asked, "How can it be too good?"

"As in I've tasted the forbidden fruit and now I'm starving for more, but I can't have any more because he was bloody drunk and probably doesn't care about me and oh Merlin, why Delia, why?"

"Oh dear," Delia said in alarm. "Let's sit down." She ushered me towards the couches. "So wait, what happened? Did he just appear out of the blue and kiss you?"

I clutched at my hair. "No, I don't know, we were talking and then he was like, you're my favourite, and I was like well, okay, you're my favourite too, then he kisses me and I mean, really kisses me, and then… then he says that he's been wanting to do that for a while, and then he had to leave cause someone wanted to talk to him and oh I don't know," I wailed, dropping my face into my hands.

Delia stared. "Isn't that… good?"

"Yes, good!" I cried, "Too good! I'm pretty sure I fancy the socks off him." Realisation hit me with the impact of a forgotten assignment due date. "Merciful Merlin, I fancy him."

Delia let out an incredulous laugh. "Oh Rose." There was entirely too much affection in her voice.

My stare remained frozen into the distance. "Bloody hell."

"But… he kissed you, right?" Delia grappled, "So he must like you, and he said he'd been wanting to do that for ages."

"But he's drunk, Delia," I moaned, "look at him!"

We turned to see Scorpius laughing uproariously with his mates.

"Does that look like the face of a sober Scorpius? He's bloody laughing!"

"Well, he's with his friends… I'm sure he laughs when he's sober as well."

"Goes to show how well I know him," I groaned.

"But…shouldn't you be happy that you had a nice snog?" Delia tried.

I sighed, "I guess. But I didn't realise how much I cared about him until he snogged me and now everything's changed and I know I'm being ridiculous, but I can't help it."

"Why are you so sure he doesn't care about you anyway? I saw the way he looked at you that time in the bathroom."

"Oh, I don't know. I just…I'm not cut out for this. My frail heart can't take it."

Delia just smiled sympathetically at me.

"I need a drink," I sniffed.

"No, you need a hug. C'mere you big baby." Delia pulled me into her arms.

* * *

Scorpius did not come back.

Well, not by 2am anyway. And by 2am, I was well and truly ready for bed. Rose Weasley, party animal, thy name is not.

Especially not when you spend the rest of the night watching Scorpius Malfoy out of the corner of one eye, hoping that he'll come over, and Roy Wilden out of the corner of your other eye, hoping that he won't.

That kind of vigilance would have exhausted even the biggest of party animals. And as I said, I was just a measly…weasel-ey.

Oh boy, well and truly time for bed.

I took one last sweeping glance of the room. I spotted Scorpius sitting in the middle of a couch, surrounded by people. He gesticulated wildly as he recounted something to his friends. Yes, very much occupied. Very much unapproachable. Very much unattainable.

My heart sunk.

Scorpius Malfoy, lone wolf, not so.

Maybe he was right, there was a lot that I didn't know.

* * *

 _A/N:_

 _:O They kissed! Feelings! Realisations!_

 _Hope you enjoyed that one :)_

 _If you're after some more Rose and Scorpius, I recently posted a one-shot called 'Because the Flicker Grows', go check it out!_

 _Have a lovely rest of the day!_

 _Bumbledbee_


	7. Chapter 7: Of Bombs and Shells

"Why are we meeting so early?" Fenton moaned as he stumbled into his seat.

"It's lunchtime," I replied, taking a sip of my pumpkin juice.

"That's early when you went to bed at 4am." Fenton rubbed his eyes.

"Sounds like you had a good night," I commented.

Fenton smiled sleepily. "Yeah, it was great."

"Sorry I'm late." Scorpius joined us, swinging his long legs over the bench and settling in next to me. His arm jostled against mine and then remained pressed against me. I stiffened, my body burned with the awareness of his proximity. Any tiredness I had been feeling disappeared in a flash, I was wide awake and wired. I snuck a quick glance at him, but he was obliviously pouring himself a glass of pumpkin juice.

"Scorpius, my man! Appreciate the effort last night." Fenton fist bumped Scorpius. "Stayed right to the end," he explained to me and Roy.

"No worries, mate. Was a good night."

A good night.

A GOOD NIGHT?

There he was all cool, calm and collected and then here I was suffering from severe heart palpitations. What were the signs of heart attack again? Shooting sensations up your right arm? Or was it left? The arm pressed up against Scorpius felt ready to erupt into flames at any moment now.

Maybe he didn't remember. He did drink a lot. It was probably for the best. No embarrassment, no awkward confrontation, no change in group dynamic.

But he was sitting damn close to me.

Then again, perhaps he was just too hungover too notice.

"Did you have a good time, Rose?" Fenton asked, "Didn't really get to see you."

I froze. "Yeah, I did. Thanks for hosting." I took a giant, fortifying gulp of juice to avoid extrapolating.

Fenton grinned. "My pleasure."

"Seriously, sunglasses, Malfoy? Do you think you're a rapper or something?" Roy asked, raising an eyebrow.

I snuck a look to my right and sure enough, Scorpius was casually wearing aviators as he took a swig of his pumpkin juice.

He would've looked like an absolute wanker if he didn't look so heartbreakingly cool. If he didn't look like he could be leaning against one of those muggle convertible cars with the sea breeze in his hair and sun glinting off his face. I hoped his eyes were bloodshot and squinty behind those shades. I hoped he had dark circles and a pounding headache. There'd be no excuse for him looking so damn gorgeous otherwise.

"I think it's bloody bright in the Great Hall, that's what I think," Scorpius replied.

"You look ridiculous," Roy stated.

"Do I look like I care, Wilden?" was Scorpius' response as he shovelled eggs onto his plate. "Anyway, are we here to discuss the project or what? I didn't drag myself out of bed at this hour just to eat lunch at the Gryffindor table."

"Right, did we want to keep the part about Randal Raybould and the raging villagers or is that too similar to Hayman Foskett's story?" Fenton asked, taking out his gold leaf notebook.

"I reckon his story's actually better than Foskett's," Roy said, "What about you, Rose? You're very quiet today."

I flushed. "Just tired. Yeah, I agree, Raybould's story is more entertaining."

Scorpius reached for his glass of pumpkin juice. "Hey, who drank my juice?"

I looked from his half empty glass on my right to the almost full glass on my left. "Oh crap, sorry, thought it was mine!"

Scorpius turned to me for the first time that day, his lip quirked. "Cheeky."

I choked on my pastie.

He remembered. He definitely remembered.

The only silver lining I could think of as I hacked up a lung and as Scorpius cheerfully thumped me on the back (doing very little to actually dislodge the flakes of pastry plastered to my throat, might I add) was that at least nobody attributed my scarlet face to embarrassment.

"You're not mad?" Fenton gaped at Scorpius from behind his plate, which he held up as shield. "You're not going to yell and throw a fit?"

Scorpius gave Fenton a weird look. "It's just pumpkin juice, Fawley. Keep your hair on." He reached over me to grab my glass. "I'll just take hers." Scorpius took a swig.

My eyes went round. Scorpius Malfoy was drinking from my glass. My lips, his lips. I looked at Scorpius' glass, which he'd drunk from, which I'd then drunk from. I couldn't help but stare as his lips made contact with the edge of the glass, as he tipped his head back, his neck as he swallowed. I swallowed.

Scorpius licked his lips. I licked mine. Heat rose in my chest. The feeling of his mouth on mine was only too vivid, the liquid fire that pooled in my belly as he pulled my body against his, as he stroked my tongue with his. I tore my eyes away from him and released a big breath, chest practically heaving.

I desperately wanted to drink from my own, well Scorpius' glass, but it seemed utterly obscene to do so now.

I blinked several times and settled for shovelling potato into my mouth.

"This salad is great, by the way, really crisp," Scorpius commented out of the blue. He raised the bowl towards me. "Salad, Rose?"

My eyes narrowed as they flickered between the salad bowl and Scorpius, his face was the picture of innocence. I pushed the bowl away primly with two fingers. "No thank you, I'm more of a hearty steak kind of gal. You understand."

My mind flashed back to last night and I regretted my comment immediately. If that kiss wasn't a hearty steak then I didn't know what was.

"Of course." I couldn't read Scorpius' expression behind the sunglasses, and for that, I was thankful.

"I'll have some, Scorpy." Fenton reached for the bowl.

Scorpius jerked the bowl out of Fenton's reach. "Don't ever call me that again."

Fenton must have grown a thicker skin or the two must have really bonded, because instead of shying away, Fenton said, "Oh come on, I'll let you call me Fenty."

The look of sheer revulsion was apparent even from behind Scorpius' sunglasses. "It doesn't work that way, Fawley."

Undeterred, Fenton pushed on, "What about…Malfy?"

Scorpius' face turned to granite. "This conversation is over."

"Don't tell me you actually like the name Scorpius?"

"Over." Scorpius ground out.

* * *

I felt a hand on my arm as I stood up from my seat. I looked up into Scorpius' face. "Are you free now?"

My face fell. "No, sorry. Roy wanted to talk to me. Do you need me for something?"

Scorpius dropped his hand from my arm. "No, it's fine."

My eyes widened. Did he want to speak about last night? Oh Merlin. Did I want to speak to him about last night? "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Come find me after? I'll be in the library."

I gave him a shaky smile. "Okay."

I watched him go, heart racing. What did he want to see me for? Surely it could only be to talk about last night. But then again, I never knew what to expect with him. He was constantly proving me wrong.

I took a deep breath as I walked out of the hall with Roy. One thing at a time.

"What's up?" I asked.

Roy stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I don't know if you heard, but Felicity and I broke up."

I stumbled. "Oh no, I mean oh, yes, Fenton told me. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, it's not what I wanted to talk you about. What I wanted to say was…" Roy glanced at his feet before raising his eyes back up to mine. "I miss you."

A sharp intake of breath. "What?"

"I miss you, Rose."

My heart stopped. This wasn't happening.

"There's something I need to tell you."

Oh Merlin, he already had me reeling at 'I miss you', what more could he possibly say?

"When I broke it off with you, I said it was because I fancied Felicity. I lied."

I forgot how to breathe.

"You know I haven't always had the best relationship with my parents. We don't agree on many things. This sounds crazy, even for them but…my father got caught doing business with some underworld figures and it was your mother who heard his case in the Wizengamot. And I was so…well I was furious with my parents, but I was so ashamed, so absolutely humiliated, I couldn't face you."

I could only stare at him in unmitigated shock. The weeks and months after Roy broke up with me, I'd hoped and dreamed that he'd come to me and tell me if it was all a lie, beg me to take him back, but never in a million years had I dreamed that this would be the reason.

"How could Rose Weasley, daughter of Hermione Granger, possibly date someone who had a criminal for their father? We'd be a laughing stock. You'd be a laughing stock. I couldn't bear it. It wasn't fair to you."

I finally found my voice again. "It wasn't fair to me that you didn't tell me!"

"Your mother oversaw his court case! I didn't want to you getting involved, it was too messy. And what if word got out? Your family's reputation would be tarnished too."

I shook my head in disbelief. "You should've told me."

Roy looked away. "I couldn't bear to."

"Did you think that I'd look down on you? Did you think that I'd cast you aside? I don't care about those kinds of things!" I faltered. "You know I don't…right?"

"I know, but I cared. I couldn't bear the pity."

"The pity? It's not pity, it's compassion!"

"You were just always so far above me."

My mouth fell open. So far above Roy Wilden? Roy Wilden who achieved ten OWLS, was awarded Quidditch Captain, and adored by the entire Hogwarts population? "That's crap!"

"Look at my family, Rose!" Roy's eyes filled with hurt and frustration. "My father's a convicted criminal. And it wasn't the first time he's broken the law."

"I don't care about who your dad is," I cried.

"But other people do, maybe not so much at Hogwarts, but in the real world, people do. I'm trying desperately to prevent my father from ruining my career, and I couldn't have him bringing you down as well."

I exhaled in disbelief. Roy broke up with me for… me? "Regardless, you should've told me. I would've helped you, I would've listened. That's what relationships are for!"

"But my pride couldn't take it. I didn't want you to see me so… weak."

I opened my mouth and closed it. This was madness. "So you preferred to break off all ties with me rather than tell me the truth?" My voice came out a little strangled.

"I was a fool. I was so angry, so hurt, so ashamed. I wasn't thinking straight at the time."

A slow rage began simmering amidst the confusion. "You thought it was preferable to lie to me, to hurt me, just so that you didn't appear weak?"

"I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't want to hurt your family."

"You should've trusted me," my voice came out in a whisper and to my horror, I felt a hot prickling at the back of my eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Rose."

I turned away from him, trying to process the information. Failing. Trying again. "But…but what about Felicity?"

"Felicity is an old family friend, our parents go way back. She understood what I was going through, so I sought solace with her. I never stopped missing you."

My head reeled. This whole time.

"You never fancied Felicity?"

Roy shook his head.

I couldn't speak for a moment, and when I did, it came out as a whisper. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't afraid of the answer. "Why are you telling me all this now?"

Roy twisted his hands. "Because it's been half a year since the incident. My dad's on probation, things have settled. I think this time he might actually be getting better…also, I miss you. I'm a selfish fool. I thought I could keep my feelings buried, but being around you so much these past few weeks has been torture. I don't deserve you, but I can't stand being apart from you."

The breath left my lungs. I needed to sit. "You hurt me, Roy."

"I know, I'm so sorry."

I took a step back. "You really hurt me."

Roy stepped forward, his brown eyes desperately sad. "If I could take it all back, I would."

"But you can't. And you can't just expect me to forget that you dumped me for half a year and act like nothing's changed. You can't just expect me to fit neatly around your personal issues."

"I know, I don't expect you to."

"You lied to me."

Roy looked like I'd stabbed him in the gut. "You have no idea how sorry I am."

I gave a slight shake of my head. "I can't deal with this right now."

"Do you think you could ever forgive me?"

I took a deep breath and clutched my hair. Hurt and confusion swirled inside of me. "Yes, maybe, I don't know. I just… need to think."

Roy just looked at me sadly.

I stared at him for a moment longer before stumbling backwards. "I have to go. I'm sorry, I can't." And then I turned on my heel and ran.

As soon as I reached my dorm, I slid down the wall and the floodgates opened. Tears gushed out in great wracking sobs. All this time. All this time I'd been wondering, questioning, second guessing, what had caused the break up. What had happened, what I'd done wrong, oh what I would have done to fix it. And to think, it was all because of his father, because of Roy and his stupid sense of honour. Because of his stupid insecurity.

Rose and Roy, Wilden and Weasley. We'd been perfectly matched. The poster couple that everyone expected to last. The couple that might have actually survived the long journey from high school sweethearts to old married couple.

But nothing lasted forever.

I dropped my head into my hands and my shoulders shook. I cried for Roy, all the pain that he'd had to endure because of his parents. I cried for past Rose, who had no closure, who had ached, who had no fucking idea. I cried for me, all the hurt, all the confusion, all the mixed emotions that I'd been stifling these past few weeks. I cried for Merlin knows how long, months of frustration and heart ache finally spilling over.

As the tears gradually slowed, an anger started smouldering.

Roy Wilden. Model Student. Quidditch Captain. Absolute Idiot. Complete Bastard.

How dare he dump this on me now? How dare he come back and tell me that he missed me after he lied to my face? If he was that concerned about my reputation, about not appearing weak, why didn't he have enough conviction to follow through with it and just keep his damn mouth shut? If he cared, why couldn't he just let me be? I'd been doing just fine the past two months. He hadn't been plaguing my every waking moment, I'd moved on. And now this.

He thought the problems with his father were settling down, but what if he was wrong? Would he turn around and dump me again? I wasn't just some perfect doll that would fit conveniently around his life, be around when he wanted me to, be gone when things got messy. He was hurting? Good.

And what about Felicity? How many hours had I spent questioning what she had that I didn't? How many hours had I spent dissecting each of her features and comparing them to my own? How many hours had I spent hating her bitterly, and then hating myself for hating someone whose only fault was fancying the same person I did?

And now here I was again, wondering what she could have offered that I couldn't. Was it a friendship that went back into childhood? A last name that wasn't Weasley? A personality that wasn't mine?

Scorpius.

Scorpius Malfoy and his bad temper, his wicked smile. His ridiculously beautiful handwriting, his gentle hands. His talented mouth that had devoured mine last night. Scorpius Malfoy laughing with friends. Scorpius who I really didn't know.

Roy Wilden with a broken family, with insecurities and fears that I hadn't fathomed. Roy who I also didn't really know.

Roy Wilden. Scorpius Malfoy. Rose Weasley.

I bit my lip and shut my eyes as one last tear slid down my cheek. I lay on the floor, energy utterly depleted, a burnt husk.

* * *

"You didn't come find me yesterday."

"I know, I'm sorry, I-something came up,"

Scorpius' eyes flittered across my face. I wasn't sure if my eyes were still red, if I was looking a little raw or if he simply sensed that something wasn't right. "What happened?"

"I hope you don't mind me saying, Wilden, but you look like shit," Fenton remarked cheerfully as he waltzed in, a first year trailing behind him, carrying his books.

I looked up to see Roy with dark circles under his eyes and a rumpled shirt. Fenton wasn't wrong. Roy Wilden had seen better days.

But then again, so had I.

Scorpius gaze shifted between me and Roy I. He let out a sigh.

"I'm fine," I said hurriedly, "Did you want to talk after class?"

Scorpius shook his head. "No rush. I've waited this long already, haven't I? Take all the time you need."

I looked up into his eyes, the sadness mingled with kindness told me that it wasn't the meeting he was talking about. I felt a hotness at the back of my eyes and I snapped my gaze back to my notes.

"Thank you," I whispered.

* * *

A/N:

…

yeah so that happenedlolmybadloveyouguysXOXOXOXOXOXXOOOXO

P.S. shout out to my reviewers commenting on guest accounts, I can't respond to your reviews, but just know that I appreciate you all the same!


	8. Chapter 8:One door closes, another opens

If I had thought I had been good at avoiding Roy in the past couple of weeks, now I was ready to begin my career as an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries. Uncle Harry and his invisibility cloak had nothing on me. Admittedly the first few days had been rough; Delia had to give me a neck and shoulder massage to ease the strain of constantly looking behind my back. The tension I'd accumulated from living in a state of fear that Roy was just around the next corner had really done a number on me.

But now I had mastered the art of skulking. Now I was ready to embrace life in the shadows.

I vehemently denied Delia's accusations that my actions were cowardly. And okay, I didn't know what to say to Roy and even the thought of interacting with him made me recoil in horror, but I needed distance. Distance and time to allow for clarity of thought. It was for the best.

Six months ago, Roy had closed the door on our relationship. And oh, how I'd beaten at the door, how desperately I'd wanted to pry it back open. But finally, I'd made peace with the fact that it was firmly locked. I'd walked away. And now he'd flung it back open. Wide open. Wind blustering through as the door swung back on its hinges.

The only thing was, did I want it back open?

I watched Roy from the other side of the classroom, watched him listen to the professor, watched him take notes. Watched him as he cocked his head to the side as he always did when he was thinking, watched him twirl his quill. All these actions, so familiar. I could almost imagine myself sitting next to him as I used to. Like nothing had changed.

But things had changed.

And I had changed. The rose tint had been removed from my glasses. The tears had washed away all the residue feelings clinging onto my heart. The confusion, the frustration, the last dredges of hurt, flushed away. I didn't look at Roy now and see a paragon of a human being. I didn't look at Roy and see betrayal. I didn't look at Roy and see anything at all. He was just Roy. Roy who was caring and thoughtful, but also insecure and conflicted. Roy who had misguided notions of honour. Roy who tried so hard to be the best that he could be. Roy who was just human.

The afternoon sun slid in through the window, bathing the classroom in a warm glow. The light glinted off Scorpius' hair, capturing my attention. He lounged back in his chair, leg kicked out under the table, all casual elegance. What was he thinking? Was he paying attention to the professor? Who was this boy who yelled at people for not knowing basic English grammar, but then spent time teaching them how to use commas? Who was this boy who didn't seem to know the definition of gentle, but then cradled your face like it was made of glass and fished an eyelash out of your eye? Who was this boy who seemed worlds away, but then made you feel like you were the centre of his?

Scorpius shifted in his seat and I hurriedly averted my gaze.

I flicked my eyes back onto Roy. His straight back and good posture, which I used to admire, now looked rigid. The way in which he took notes almost word for word used to be endearing, now seemed unnecessary. He still had that wavy brown hair, those warm eyes framed with long lashes. But my heart didn't skip a beat when he turned those eyes onto me. I didn't imagine myself running my hands through that hair. I didn't marvel at how nice he was.

Nice.

It had been enough before. But not anymore. I needed more.

Nice didn't excite me.

Scorpius Malfoy excited me.

* * *

Things never turned out how you expected them to.

Exhibit A: Roy dumping me

Exhibit B: Roy wanting me back

Exhibit C: Me not wanting Roy back

Exhibit D: Me asking Fenton Fawley for advice

Exhibit E: Me asking Fenton Fawley advice about Scorpius Malfoy

I traipsed into the Common Room and threw myself into the chair opposite Fenton's. "Fenton, can I ask you something off the record?"

Fenton put down his book, a gleam in his eye. "I love off the record."

I sat forward in my chair and folded my hands on the table. "What is your honest opinion of Scorpius Malfoy?"

Fenton's eyes widened and a gleeful smile began mincing its way across his face. "My honest opinion of Scorpius Malfoy? Interesting question. _Very_ interesting." He waggled his eyebrows. "I like it."

I rubbed my forehead. "I'm regretting this already."

"Regret not! You have asked and I shall answer," Fenton replied with a flourish of his hand.

"Wonderful," I muttered as I looked around for a quick escape.

"Scorpius Malfoy, he is…" Fenton paused, for dramatic effect or to think, I did not know, "a bastard."

My heart sunk and I slumped back in my chair. I guess I should've seen that one coming.

"A kind bastard. And sometimes a funny bastard. But a bastard nonetheless," Fenton continued, steepling his fingers. "But isn't that why we love him? He cuts through the bullshit like no other and just doesn't give a crap about what anyone thinks about him. It's refreshing; a refreshing bastard."

I nodded slowly as if I hadn't just been imagining Scorpius in a Hawaiian shirt, sitting in a beach chair, and sipping a fruity cocktail with a paper umbrella in it. "A refreshing bastard, indeed."

"I like him," Fenton admitted.

A corner of my mouth lifted. "I like him too."

Fenton cocked his head to one side. "I'd never thought I'd say that."

I chuckled. "Me neither."

"And let's not get ahead of ourselves, he was a damn hard pill to swallow. I choked on him many a time and tried to cough him back, but he's wormed his way into my life, and now I find that I like having him on my team."

I nodded. "But sometimes I wonder, do I even really know him? At first, I thought he was just an angry lone wolf, then I learn that he's actually a decent guy beneath that tough exterior, and then at your party I realised he has friends!"

Fenton braced his hands on the table and leant forward. "I know, astonishing, isn't it? People other than us, actually enjoy his company."

"And it wasn't like one or two other people, there was a whole group of them," I replied indignantly.

Fenton shook his head. "Unbelievable."

I clenched my fist. "And he was laughing with them!"

Fenton closed his eyes, his voice cracked, "Are we not enough for him?"

"What a bastard." I slammed my hand into the table.

"A bastard through and through," Fenton agreed with a rueful shake of his head.

"I kissed Scorpius," the words fell out of my mouth before I could filter them.

Fenton's eyes snapped up to mine. "I knew it!"

My eyes widened in alarm. "What? How? Did you see us?" I covered my mouth. "Did Scorpius tell you?"

Fenton rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine, I didn't actually know. Calm your farm, Scorpius didn't kiss and tell. But I knew something was up. You were both acting fishy at breakfast the next morning."

"Lunch," I corrected him.

"Whatever. Uncle Fenton knows what's up." Fenton nodded his head with a grin of smug satisfaction.

I chose to ignore the disturbing fact that Fenton just referred to himself as my uncle. "Do you think Roy noticed?"

Fenton shrugged. "Probably. Aren't exes always reading into things?"

"Ugh." I dropped my head into my hands.

"What does it matter what Roy thinks? You're not together anyway."

I considered Fenton for a moment before letting out a long sigh. "I've told you so much already, might as well tell you the rest."

Fenton's eyes lit up. "I concur."

I took a deep breath. "Roy wants me back."

Fenton's mouth fell open. "Daaang."

"Yep."

"Any particular reason why?"

I sighed. "Yes, but that's not for me to say."

"Fair." Fenton stretched his legs out in front of him. "Well, aren't you in a bit of a pickle. Now I understand the line of questioning." A giggle escaped his lips and he clapped his hands together. "So great."

"At least one person's enjoying it," I replied wryly.

Fenton leaned forward. "My honest opinion of Scorpius Malfoy? I like him. My honest opinion of Roy Wilden? I like him too. My honest opinion overall? I would rather spend time with Scorpius Malfoy than Roy Wilden."

And there it was.

I considered Fenton for a moment. "You're pretty good at cutting through the bullshit yourself."

Fenton winked. "I learn from the best."

I groaned through a laugh, dropping my head into my hands. "I'm so screwed."

"You're not screwed, Rose, you just have to choose."

"But I'm so confused," I moaned.

"If I told you that you had to spend the next hour with Scorpius or Roy, who would you choose?"

"I choose Fenton." I sent him a wink back. "That's why I'm here with you."

He looked appropriately delighted. "You have no shame, but I like it."

I beamed.

Fenton rested his chin on his hand. "But seriously, would you rather spend time with Scorpius or Roy?"

I sighed. "Well, at this point in time, it's not so much a question of Scorpius or Roy as Scorpius or no Scorpius?"

Fenton raised his eyebrows. "I see. Big development."

"Yes, I know."

"Good for you."

"Thanks."

"So, what are you worried about?" Fenton asked.

I ran a hand over my face. "I'm worried that I don't really know Scorpius, I'm worried that he's just a rebound, I'm worried that he doesn't like me, I'm worried that I'll hurt Roy's feelings."

Fenton frowned. "I see, that is quite a list. But there's one very easy way of fixing that, and that's simply to get to know Scorpius."

I sighed heavily. "That makes an awful lot of sense."

Fenton shrugged. "I'm brilliant."

"But it still doesn't quash all the uncertainty and doubt stirring inside me, there's this constant weight on my chest that I can't shake."

"What's life without a bit of uncertainty? That's what makes it fun."

I sat back in my chair. "Damnit Fenton, when did you get so wise?"

Fenton readjusted his glasses. "To be honest, I think it's these specs. Makes me adopt this alter ego."

I let out a bark of laughter. "I was wondering what was different about you."

"Yeah, trying out a new look. Obviously, I don't actually need them, my vision's perfect just like the rest of me, but it's good to try new things every now and then."

I grinned. "Thank you, Fenton. Wisdom looks good on you."

Exhibit F: Fenton Fawley providing good advice.

* * *

"I am surrounded by idiots," Scorpius ground out, clenching his fist.

Roy, Fenton and I shifted guiltily in our seats.

"I can't believe all three of you wrote up notes on the same bloody topic. Is there no communication in this group?"

I chewed on my bottom lip as I determinedly avoided eye contact with Roy.

Scorpius shook his head. "Hopeless, I don't check up on you three for a week and this is what happe-what are you doing?" Scorpius batted Fenton's hands away.

"I'm giving you a massage," Fenton replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What?" Scorpius snapped. "Why on earth would you do such a thing?"

"Thought your back might be sore, since you're carrying the group."

I groaned.

Roy's head met the table with a thunk.

Scorpius looked to the skies.

I couldn't tell if he was summoning patience, suppressing a laugh or regaining control over his temper.

Fenton's hands hovered over Scorpius' shoulders.

Finally, Scorpius motioned to Fenton with two fingers. "You may resume."

I gawked. My disbelief at the current situation overwhelming my distress that Scorpius thought I was an idiot.

After less than a minute, Fenton flexed his fingers. "Gosh, that's tiring. These hands were not made for manual labour. Rose, want to take over? After all, I'm not the only idiot here."

My mouth fell open.

Fenton winked at me.

My eyes narrowed.

Fenton waggled his eyebrows.

"That won't be necessary," Scorpius cut in.

My gaze snapped up to Scorpius, but he wasn't looking at me.

My lip trembled. He didn't want a massage from me? But why not? Did he not want me touching him? The fact that I hadn't been willing to give him a massage in the first place was irrelevant. Why didn't he want a massage from me? Merlin, Malfoy, just strike a dagger in my heart and leave me to die, why don't you?

The rest of the study session passed in a blur. History of Magic project, what? I languished on a barren desert where Scorpius Malfoy thought I was an idiot. And to think I had asked Fenton about Scorpius or no Scorpius. Hah, definitely no Scorpius, and not by my choosing.

I dropped my head into my hands. The emotional upheaval of the past few weeks had really taken its toll. I was a wreck.

I clenched my fist. No more putting this off, I needed to start sorting through this mess. Starting with Roy.

"Can I speak to you for a sec, Roy?" I asked quietly as we packed up our books.

Evidently, I hadn't been as subtle as I'd thought because both Scorpius and Fenton looked up as well.

"Well, see you guys next class," Fenton said.

Scorpius looked at me and Roy for a moment before leaving without a word.

I bit my lip. "Bye."

One step at a time, Rose.

I took a deep breath before turning to Roy. "I guess you know what I want to talk about." I twisted my hands. "I'm really sorry about your parents and all you've been through. And I'm really glad your dad is getting better."

Roy laced his fingers together and rocked back on his heels as if bracing himself. "But?"

I sighed. "But so much has changed. I've changed. Things can't just go back to the way they used to be."

Roy's shoulders hunched. "Are you sure? Is there anything I can do to change your mind?"

I shook my head.

Roy took a step forward, his eyes earnest. "I can wait for you, Rose."

I raised my hands in alarm. "No, please don't. Don't waste your time waiting for me."

Roy ducked his head. "So, is this really it then?"

I nibbled on my lower lip. "I think so."

Roy sighed and looked out the window before bringing his eyes back to mine. "I'm sorry I screwed things up."

I smiled sadly and shrugged my shoulders. "The past is in the past."

"I'm so sorry for hurting you, Rose."

"It's forgiven."

Roy looked at me, his eyes glossy. "Thank you."

I nodded.

The sound of pages flipping and murmured conversation filled the air as we looked at each other, both processing the significance of this moment.

Roy looked away first, raking a hand through his hair. "Are things going to be awkward in the group now?"

The corner of my mouth tipped upwards. "I hope not. I don't think less of you, Roy."

Roy sighed again. "You should. But thank you."

I shuffled my feet. "I guess we'll just keep going as we always do."

"I guess so." Roy dropped his head. "Well, I'll see you next class then."

I mustered up a tight lipped smile. "Bye, Roy."

As he left, I slumped into a chair. Closing my eyes, I tipped back my head and let out a deep sigh. I waited for the relief to settle in. For my muscles to relax, for the weight off my shoulders to lift off. For my sails to catch a new wind.

Instead, I just felt tired.

Tired, battered, and more than a bit bruised.

* * *

The new wind didn't come, but an old one did. I guess all that slinking around and hiding from Roy counted for something after all. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't skulking around the back section of the library to snoop on Scorpius. But technically it wasn't snooping if I intended to say hi, right?

Peering through the crack between two books was totally acceptable behaviour. It was called being considerate. Friends didn't impose upon each other when they weren't wanted. I was just double checking.

…

And… nope. He'd spotted me.

Alright, act natural. Stroll around the corner.

"Oh hey." I raised a hand, cocking my head towards him.

Scorpius looked up at me, a question in his eyes. "Hey."

"Wow, you really are carrying the team." I nodded at the History of Magic books stacked up in his arms.

The faintest of pinks tinged Scorpius' cheeks. "Oh, um, these aren't for the project."

I wasn't sure if it was seeing Scorpius Malfoy blushing or finding out he was a giant History of Magic nerd, but I gawked at him for a moment too long.

Scorpius shifted his weight under my gaze and then began to turn away.

"Is that Eldridge Toddle's thesis on the Giant Wars?" I blurted out in a desperate attempt to undo the damage.

Scorpius paused. "You've read it?"

Oh well, I'd blown my cover now. "Yeah, he has a really interesting perspective on the whole topic." Now it was Scorpius staring at me. "But I thought Maia Winterwood's was better, she's much more even-handed," I continued into the gaping silence.

Oh Merlin, I'd misjudged it. I'd misjudged Scorpius, I'd misjudged the whole situation. Here I thought Scorpius was just embarrassed at being caught with a stack of History of Magic books, but he really just wanted to get away from me.

Scorpius took a step forward. "Maia Winterwood's one of my favourite academics. There's none of that pretentious conjecture, she just gets to the point and lets the information speak for itself."

A sigh of relief and wonder left my lips. "I think so too! The way she brings in the female giants' narrative adds such a fresh perspective, it makes you look at the Giant Wars in an entirely different way."

"Yeah, I was devastated when she wrote about Nadia's death."

"Oh Merlin, when I think about all that Nadia did, just to have it slip through her fingers at the last minute." I shook my head. "Ugh, it makes me so mad and so sad."

"At least she was recognised as the heroine she was in the decades after."

I nodded sadly. "Nadia deserved better."

"Really puts our own lives' little problems in perspective, doesn't it?" Scorpius put his books down on the table beside him.

I let out a small laugh. "Yeah, that's for sure."

"Are you-" Scorpius raked a hand through his hair. "That is, are- how are you?"

I looked at him in surprise. "I'm okay? You?"

Scorpius nodded. "That's good, that's good. I-" he looked at me for a long moment, grey eyes boring into mine. Then he turned abruptly. "No, I said I'd be patient," he said under his breath.

"Pardon?"

All I got back from him were muttered words, "Shouldn't ask-not my place."

"Ask what?" I leaned forward.

Scorpius turned back to face me. I stared as he bit his lip. His eyes glanced up at mine for a second before he turned around again, resting his forehead against his fingers, shaking his head.

"Scorpius?" I asked tentatively, "Are _you_ okay?"

"Rose," Scorpius said, swivelling around and suddenly he was all there. Much closer than before. His eyes blazed with an intensity that sent my heart racing. I looked up at him, punch drunk on his proximity. "I shouldn't ask, and I'm sorry for asking, but what's your relationship with Roy?"

I blinked, sobriety washing over me like a giant, ice-cold wave.

Scorpius took a step back, disappointment painted clearly on his face. "Right, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"What? No, we're not anything!" I scrambled.

Something flickered in Scorpius' eyes. "You're not anything?" His voice was hesitant.

I shook my head. "There's nothing between me and Roy," I stated with more certainty.

"Oh, right." Scorpius' voice was light, just a little breathy. "Right," he repeated. He shifted on his feet and suddenly his body seemed to be a source of endless energy. He flashed me a smile so quick and brilliant that I would've missed it if I hadn't been studying his face so intently.

I found myself smiling back for want of something to do.

Scorpius bit his lip, but the corners of his mouth kept turning upwards. Both hands went up to run through his hair and then he tipped his head back and laughter burst out of his mouth.

His face lit up like he'd been plugged into one of those muggle power boards and I couldn't look away. My breath caught in my throat and warmth bloomed in my chest. And I wasn't sure if his laugh was contagious or if it was sheer overwhelming relief, but laughter bubbled in my throat as well.

And then we were two fools in the History of Magic section chuckling like we'd been hit with overly strong cheering charms.

Scorpius' laughter washed over me, more soothing than any stress relieving balm. My own laughter shook out the tension in my body better than any of Delia's massages, and the sun shining through the library window suddenly felt that much warmer.

* * *

 _A/N:_

 _My darling readers, thank you so much for your patience! You guys are the best and I love you very much. Drop me a review and/or come find me on Tumblr! I'm Bumbledbee over there as well :)_


	9. Chapter 9: A trip down memory lane

"You look happy," Fenton remarked as I walked into the classroom and plonked myself down in the chair next to him.

"I spoke to Roy," I told him with a grin.

Fenton looked at me appraisingly. "And?"

"I spoke to Scorpius," I said, puffing out my chest.

"And?" Fenton repeated.

"Everything's settled." I clasped my hands on the desk.

Fenton's forehead creased. "Everything's settled? As in…you dumped Roy and are now settling down with Scorpius to have five children?"

"What? No!" I halted in laying out my books and looked at him in disbelief. "As in, I told Roy I wasn't interested and I told Scorpius that I wasn't with Roy."

Fenton stared at me for a moment before letting out a long sigh.

"Don't sigh at me! Why are you sighing at me?" I asked indignantly. "Everything's back to how it should be." I smoothed a hand over the cover of my notebook.

Fenton tutted, removing his cloak and hanging it delicately on the back of his chair. "The key word there being 'back', my dear."

"Yeah well, you know what they say, one step forward, two steps back," I huffed. "And it's not my fault we went backwards in the first place, that was Roy's doing."

"So, you're telling me you and Scorpius still haven't discussed the kiss?"

"What? No, of course not!" I whispered, looking around hastily. "Keep your voice down!"

A shit eating grin sashayed its way across Fenton's face. "Keep my lovely, sweet voice down? How cruel of you to deny society the privilege of hearing these dulcet tones!"

I made a noise of exasperation. "C'mon, Fenton. You know what I mean."

"Do I?" Fenton all but warbled, his voice now 20 decibels louder. "Ah, Malfazar!"

"Huh?" I asked.

A bag dropped down next to me and I looked up to see Scorpius pulling out the chair. "Rose," he acknowledged.

My pulse jumpstarted. "Oh hey." I flashed him a smile.

"Ugh, ignored." Fenton clutched his heart. "I am so underappreciated."

"There's no need for us to appreciate you when you do such a good job at appreciating yourself," Scorpius muttered, taking his books out of his bag.

"Thank you," Fenton responded, with a flick of his head.

"What are you thanking him for?" I asked, glancing between the two of them.

"For saying that I do such a good job at appreciating myself!" Fenton replied.

Scorpius and I shared a long look.

It didn't go unnoticed by Fenton. "See! Underappreciated!"

"Maybe you shouldn't go around giving people unwanted nicknames then," Scorpius shot back.

"Unwanted," Fenton said meaningfully, making quotation marks with his hands. "Malfazar secretly loves it," he stage whispered to me.

"Malfazar does have a certain ring to it," I commented, testing the name out on my tongue.

The look Scorpius gave me was one of pure betrayal.

I winced. "Sorry, but you have to admit, it's better than Malfy."

"On second thoughts, I might just sit elsewhere." Scorpius rose from the desk, glancing around the classroom for a spare seat.

Horror flashed across Fenton's face and he seized my wrist. "His other friends! He's going to sit with his other friends!" Fenton whispered frantically.

Realisation dawned on me as well. "No," my voice came out hushed in horror.

"Malfazar, I'm sorry!" Fenton cried, flinging his arm out.

Scorpius continued gathering his books.

"No, Malfy, noooo," Fenton wailed as he latched onto Scorpius' arm.

I whacked Fenton. "Stop calling him that." I shoved him out of the way. "I'm sorry, we'll never call you that again."

"Scorpius is a lovely name," Fenton piped up from behind my shoulder.

Scorpius just flattened him with a stare as if to say, don't even try that one.

I grabbed his sleeve and looked up at him, beseeched him with my most earnest eyes. "Please, Scorpius. We'll call you whatever you want." My bottom lip may have wobbled. Any shame I might have felt at resorting to such pitiful behaviour was overridden by my desire to sit next to Scorpius.

Scorpius glanced down at my hand on his sleeve, then flicked his gaze on to me. He hesitated. Then an eyebrow quirked. "Whatever I want?"

"As long as it's not something creepy like 'daddy' or something," Fenton interjected.

Scorpius shoved the rest of his books in his bag. "That's it, I'm leaving."

"Fenton!" I cried in frustration, throwing my hands in the air. "Why are you like this?"

"What?" Fenton shrugged. "It was a legitimate request."

"Says the guy who referred to himself as my uncle the other day," I retorted.

"That's different," Fenton dismissed with a wave of his hand.

"We had him!" I cried. "We had him," I repeated, looking morosely at the empty seat next to me. "He voluntarily sits with us and you chase him away with your ridiculous nicknames."

Fenton's shoulders sagged. "Sorry."

I sighed. "That's okay, just tone it down next time."

Fenton turned in his seat to look at Scorpius' new seatmates. "Look at Malfazar, chatting with Gracechurch and Saville," he said bitterly, lip curling.

I sniffed. "Bloody Malfazar."

"We'll get him next time," Fenton promised, patting my arm.

* * *

"We are not doing a roleplay for our presentation," Scorpius said in a voice that brokered no argument.

"No roleplay," Roy agreed.

"C'mon, it will be fun!" Fenton exclaimed, undeterred. "I already have costume designs!"

Three pairs of eyes widened in horror as he waved the sketches around.

"Is that a headdress?" I asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Yep! I did some research and apparently they were all the rage back in the day." Fenton grinned, flipping through an alarmingly thick folder.

"I don't think pantaloons were worn in medieval times," Roy said faintly as Fenton flicked past a particularly voluminous pair of pants.

"No costumes and no roleplay," Scorpius repeated firmly.

"You can be Head of the Church Council," Fenton announced, valiantly ignoring him, glasses perched on the end of his nose. "You would look great all in black."

"No," Scorpius replied, disgusted. "I will certainly not be Head of the Church Council."

"Fine, you can be part of the mob then, your costume won't be nearly as cool though," Fenton replied airily.

"Nor will I be part of the mob," Scorpius scoffed.

"Fine, you can be the narrator," Fenton decided, forging ahead. "Roy, you can be Head of the Church Council."

"But-" Roy started to say.

"Rose, you'll be the mob lusting for blood and also my sister pleading for my innocence. Two roles, but I think you can handle it." Fenton straightened his shoulders. "I'll be the persecuted wizard, forced to die at the stake, martyred in death…or so they think." Fenton wiggled his eyebrows.

"You're going to cast the flame freezing charm and actually allow us to light you on fire?" I asked. Fenton Fawley had officially reached a new level of crazy.

"I'm in, let's do it," Scorpius said.

"Yes!" Fenton fired finger guns at Scorpius.

"Ugh, no." Scorpius shook his head at Fenton, putting up a hand as if Fenton had served him a particularly pungent plate of seafood.

"It could be cool if he actually pulls it off," Roy remarked, tilting his head to the side.

"But the costumes," I reminded them, "the acting, the humiliation."

"The class will love us! Professor Liu will love us!" Fenton exclaimed, "Just think, everyone's nodding off at all the monotonous presentations, then bam! Us giving the performance of a lifetime." Fenton went misty eyed as he imagined it.

"Are you guys seriously agreeing to this?" I asked Scorpius and Roy incredulously.

"Does it look like he's taking no for an answer?" Roy asked.

"He's letting us light him on fire," Scorpius said, shrugging.

I stared at the three of them before dropping my head into my hands. "Boys."

"We'll get the costumes this weekend at Hogsmeade!" Fenton ploughed ahead. "Who's with me?"

"Um, how are we funding these costumes?" I interrupted, perking up, one last hurdle for Fenton to overcome.

"I'm funding them!" Fenton replied with a dazzling smile as if he were our fairy godmother swooping in to save the day. Newsflash: This Cinderella did not want a ball gown. And she certainly did not want to attend the ball either.

My eyebrows shot upwards as my heart sunk. "You are?"

"Yup." Fenton nodded.

"Are you sure?" Roy asked. "It could get quite expensive."

"Yeah, I'm the only one who wants to do it after all. And I'm not sure if you're aware, but I'm extremely affluent," Fenton replied without a hint of superiority.

"Well, okay. If you're sure," said Scorpius.

"It's going to be great," Fenton reassured us. "Now who's with me?"

Hogsmeade. The one weekend we were released from the confines of Hogwarts' four walls, had the chance to gorge ourselves on sweets at Honeydukes, drink Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks, and just relax with our friends. The one time we didn't have to think about schoolwork.

But would that day of freedom be worth the inevitable humiliation caused by allowing Fenton Fawley free reign with our costumes? And not only that, I'd have to spend this weekend that was often associated with romance, with Roy. And not only Roy, but Scorpius and Roy. Something, I'm sure Fenton would get a sadistic kick out of.

I could see both Scorpius and Roy fighting the same internal battle.

A vivid image of the four of us prancing around the History of Magic classroom as court jesters suddenly flashed across mind. I blanched.

"Yeah, I'm in," we all said at the same time.

* * *

And that was how I ended up at Hogsmeade with Fenton Fawley, Roy Wilden, and Scorpius Malfoy. It sounded like the beginning of a joke. A Hogsmeade trip doomed from the very beginning.

And Merlin was having a right good old laugh at us, because we'd barely set foot in the village when a snowball blurred across my vision and hit Fenton square in the back. Fenton turned, glanced down at his cloak, and emitted a strangled gasp of horror. His mouth opened and closed multiple times. "My cloak," he choked out.

"It's just a bit of snow," Roy said, helping Fenton brush off the excess.

Fenton swirled his cloak around him. "This. Is. Velvet." His voice was all hushed outrage.

A second snowball whizzed past my ear and landed with a dull splat on Fenton's shoulder blade.

Fenton whirled around, his face murderous. "This means war."

Roy sighed as he dusted more snow off Fenton's cloak. "They're just kids, Fenton."

Fenton looked Roy in the eye and clapped him on the shoulder. "The greatest mistake you can make is to underestimate the enemy. Rally the troops!"

I glanced over at Scorpius in confusion. "Are we supposed to be the troops?" I turned back to Fenton. "You know, you're only going to get more snow on your cloak by engaging with them. We could just walk away."

"Walk away after they've besmirched my cloak and my honour?" Fenton exclaimed as if I'd asked him to donate both his kidneys.

"Yeah-" Something cold and hard hit the back of my head. I stumbled forward from the impact as ice infiltrated the gap in my scarf and trickled down my neck. My mouth set in a hard line and my back snapped straight. "Malfoy, right flank. Wilden, left flank. Fawley, bring up the rear, we head for the trees," I barked.

"Seriously, Rose?" Roy asked in exasperation. He turned to Scorpius for support, but Scorpius had just blocked an incoming snowball with his forearm and returned fire with impressive dexterity. A yelp sounded in the distance.

"Now!" I ordered and to my great satisfaction, the other three immediately assumed formation. We marched for cover while the enemy recovered.

"Malfoy and Fawley, build the fort. Wilden, make the ammunition. I'll go scout for their location."

Fenton looked at me in alarm. "It's too dangerous."

I peered imperiously down at him. "Do you take me for an amateur, Fawley?" I shook the hair out of my face and readied myself to dart out from behind the tree. My gaze snagged on the sphere of slush Roy held between his hands. "Wilden! What kind of shoddy workmanship is that?"

Roy glanced down at the slop between his fingers. "Uh, it's been a while since I've made a snowball?"

My eyes narrowed. "Malfoy, switch with Wilden."

Scorpius was by Roy's side in an instant. "Yes, captain."

I nodded at him. "Good man." I gazed upon the three of them. "Godspeed."

Then I sprinted to the next tree, then the next, and the next. I'd made it twenty metres before a snowball skimmed my cheek and I skidded behind a bush, heart pounding. I risked a look and four snowballs rained in my direction. I ducked back down, snowballs plunged into the bush and dissolved. I made a mental note of their positions and scanned the area around me. There was nothing for it, they knew exactly where I was. I gritted my teeth and made a run for it. Three snowballs splattered at my feet before one slammed into my side. I staggered, but forced myself to continue, changing direction every couple of seconds to keep them on their toes.

"You're wounded," Scorpius said, reaching for me as I leapt over the newly made fort.

I brushed the snow off my coat. "Nothing I haven't dealt with before." I motioned for them to get closer. "Listen closely. They're all separated, spread out in a fan, vulnerable. We'll split up in pairs and take them out two against one."

They nodded, determination etched onto their faces.

"Malfoy and Wilden, head north-east. I'll go west with Fawley. Call out if you need reinforcements."

"Yes, captain," Scorpius and Roy responded in unison.

"Let's go," I told Fenton.

We were halfway across the plain when Fenton dropped to avoid a snowball to the face. "There!" He pointed to a scruff of brown hair disappearing behind a hedge.

A smile curled itself onto my lips. The chase was on. "Arm yourself," I said, moulding a snowball and weighing it up in my hand.

Adrenalin pumped through my veins as we ambushed the boy from both sides with snowball after snowball. He fought valiantly, but he was no match for us.

"Nice shot," I complimented Fenton as the boy groaned and trudged off the field.

Fenton brushed imaginary snow off his pristine cloak and his teeth flashed. "Not too shabby yourself, Weasley."

"3 'o' clock," I said as a flicker of movement caught my eye.

Fenton twisted to avoid being hit and pelted a snowball back at the girl. It struck her in the middle just as she dove for cover.

"Good aim," I said, impressed.

"What can I say? Heroes like me aren't born every day." Fenton preened and then took a direct hit to the chest.

His eyes went wide as he clutched at his heart and dropped to his knees.

"Fenton!" I cried.

"I've been shot," Fenton said in numb disbelief as snow bled through his fur-lined leather gloves. He wavered on his knees and then keeled over.

I glanced furtively around me, sensing movement. A white blur hurtled towards me and I flattened myself to the ground. I looked up to see Scorpius take out the offending boy with a snarl.

I scrambled to my feet. "Fenton, get up, we need to get out of range."

Fenton lay face down in the snow, unmoving.

I nudged him with my toe, summoning patience. "C'mon, Fenton."

Fenton didn't stir.

I sighed, "Baby."

Fenton rolled over, a glint in his eye. "Don't let Scorpius hear you calling me that."

A scoff of disbelief escaped my mouth. "No, I'm calling you a baby. Now, get up."

Fenton waved a feeble hand at me. "Go on without me," he said, voice faint.

I rolled my eyes. "Merlin, you're a drama queen and a baby." I spotted Roy and Scorpius behind the trees a few along from us. "Psst, Wilden."

Roy's head turned.

"Come over here when it's clear. Take Fawley back to base and hold down the fort. I'll continue with Malfoy."

Roy conferred quickly with Scorpius and then ran towards us, keeping low. Before Fenton could even protest, Roy had him by his armpits and was dragging him away.

Now that was the obedience and efficiency I liked to see.

"What is this?" Fenton squawked in the distance. "Is this how you treat a fallen warrior? A national hero? I want a gilded carriage and a parade of mourners!"

His voice faded out as I crouched next to Scorpius. "It's just us two now."

"Just like the old times," Scorpius murmured.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." Scorpius shook his head. "There's one hiding behind the barrels and another two behind the hedge on your right," he informed me as he scanned the perimeter.

I grimaced. "Three versus two."

Scorpius grinned like a shark. "Quality over quantity."

I returned the grin before turning back to the battlefield. "We need to draw them out."

"You're not sacrificing yourself, Rose."

I shot him an inquiring look. "How'd you know I was going to suggest that?"

Scorpius' mouth twisted. "Call it intuition."

"Intuition or no intuition, we need a divergence," I reasoned. "I'll sprint across the field to draw their attention left while you sneak up behind them on the right."

Scorpius furrowed his brow. "No, you're going to get pummelled."

Wasn't that a given? "That's why it's called a sacrifice."

"It's going to really hurt," said Scorpius.

I put my hands out meaningfully. "Sacrifice."

Scorpius shook his head as he looked at me. "I don't want you to get hurt," he said, voice uncharacteristically soft.

My heart stuttered and my next line of argument vanished. Words failed me.

"I'll go," Scorpius said firmly.

"What? No," I dismissed, recovering. Stupid Rose, stupid fickle heart. He's your friend. Of course, he wouldn't want you to get hurt. Fenton wouldn't either. "You'll get hurt."

Scorpius waved a hand. "It's fine."

"Well, I don't want you to get hurt either," I said indignantly.

Scorpius sighed, sitting back on his heels. "It seems we are at an impasse."

"It seems so."

Scorpius snapped his fingers. "Let's bring back Fenton, he can be the sacrifice."

Laughter burst from my lips and I clapped a hand over my mouth. "You're horrid."

Scorpius' eyes twinkled. "What? It's good practice for our presentation. He's the one who wanted to be the martyr."

"Somehow, I'm not sure he's going to go for that, probably espouse something about natural talent," I replied.

"Hey, is that their fort?" Scorpius said suddenly, sitting up on his knees.

I looked to where he was pointing and sure enough, a mound of snow peeked over the line of shrubs, too neat to have fallen naturally. The gleam re-entered my eyes and I turned to face him slowly. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That we take their fort and make them rue the day they ever thought about challenging us to a snowball fight?" Scorpius responded with a wicked quirk of his mouth.

I tapped my chin. "There's no way we can make it across that clearing without being seen though."

"What's to say we can't be seen?" Scorpius asked. "As long as they think we're already being pursued and running for our lives."

I waggled a finger at him. "I like the way you think."

"Once we get to their fort, we'll pretend to call them back to base, they'll come running and we'll have direct shots at all of them."

I grinned, nodding. "On the count of three?"

"One," Scorpius began, looking me in the eye.

"Two," I continued, exhaling deeply.

"Three," Scorpius said.

And then we bolted like a herd of centaurs were bearing down upon us. I took the artistic liberty to let out a scream or two. Scorpius flung a wild snowball behind us every now and then.

By the time we skidded behind their fort, I was breathing hard and struggling to hold in my laughter. I leant against the fort, breath forming small puffs of smoke as I exhaled. Scorpius' eyes sparkled and his cheekbones flushed pink from the cold and the exertion. His blue beanie had been knocked askew and the blonde hair peeking out was delectably dishevelled, heart achingly imperfect. Gone was the aloof scowl, the cold grey eyes, the untouchable persona. The boy in front of me was real. Real, alive and so very touchable. His body hummed with energy and his eyes were alight with a vitality I'd never seen in them. I couldn't look away.

I repressed the urge to throw myself at him and settled for straightening his beanie.

His cheek dimpled. "Thanks."

"Would you like to do the honours?" Scorpius asked.

I cupped my hands around my mouth and called out, "Back to base!"

There was a whoop and three figures emerged from the distance. We held our fire with baited breath, arms tensed.

I risked a peek over the fort. "Now."

Scorpius and I popped over the fort and pelted them with snowballs.

I watched as triumph became shock became confusion became fear became defeat. They dropped like flies.

I beamed up at Scorpius. "We did it!" I exclaimed, raising my arms in celebration. My smile faltered as I noticed that one of the fallen soldiers wore her hair in pigtails. With red ribbons. Another one looked so small in defeat that he wouldn't have even reached Scorpius' chest. "We beat...a bunch of Second Years?"

Scorpius winced, taking in the devastation we'd wreaked. "We defended Fenton's honour?" Scorpius tried after a brief pause.

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, they started it. We were just acting in self-defence."

"Oh yes, they threw the first snowball. Definitely a declaration of war," Scorpius agreed.

"What were we to do? Let them lay siege to our dignity?" I threw up my arms.

Scorpius grimaced as a boy emerged from underneath a mountain of snow. "Oh Merlin, we're bullies, aren't we?"

"We're definitely bullies," I agreed immediately, remorse flooding my body, thick and fast.

"Do you think we should apologise?" Scorpius asked, rubbing his neck.

"Yeah, let's do that," I said.

We walked towards one of the boys, but as soon as he saw us approaching, he scrambled to his knees and scurried in the other direction.

Scorpius' mouth twitched as he looked at me, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "It's official, we are horrible people," he said mildly, we could have been discussing the weather.

The corners of my lips curved upwards despite myself. "The very worst."

We stood in silence as we assessed the empty battlefield.

"Well look, that was nice spot of light exercise, if nothing else," Scorpius said as we turned around and headed back to base.

"Never thought you'd be an optimist, but I'd have to agree. And a good team building activity to boot."

"We always did make a good team," Scorpius said, almost to himself.

I raised an eyebrow. "We did?"

"I mean, we make a good team," Scorpius corrected, shaking his head.

I stopped walking. "No, wait a minute. You said something earlier as well, just like old times?"

Scorpius looked over his shoulder. "We should probably get back."

"Scorpius," I said meaningfully, giving him my best McGonagall impression.

Scorpius sighed and kicked the snow at his feet. "This isn't the first snowball fight we've fought together."

"What?" My forehead creased and my brain whirred into action, I started mentally cataloguing every single snowball fight I'd ever had.

Scorpius gave a rueful smile. "Don't hurt yourself. It wasn't recent. In fact, it was before we were even at Hogwarts."

I stared at Scorpius slack jawed. We'd met before Hogwarts? When? What? How?

"We were 10 and you were about to have a snowball fight with your family, but your team was down a player. I was waiting for my mum to get fitted for new robes at Madam Malkin's and got roped into being the fourth member of your team."

The internal audit of my memories ground to a halt as my brain finally snagged on a memory. Realisation dawned, bright and harsh. "Beanie boy?" I gasped so deeply I almost choked. "You're beanie boy?" I gawked at him, unabashed.

"Um, sorry, what?" Scorpius asked, reaching up to touch his hat.

"Holy mother of Merlin, you're beanie boy," I continued, heedless of the fact that I was raving like a madman. "I can't believe I never recognised you! And you're even wearing a beanie now! Oh Merlin, I have to tell Albus, I have tell James, I have to tell everyone." I looked around me as if they would suddenly appear, body vibrating with restless energy.

"Hold up, who's beanie boy?" Scorpius interrupted.

"You!" I cried. "The little boy who joined our team and won us the annual snowball fight. We'd been playing every year with the same teams, training and everything. But then, Fred accidentally ate a Puking Pastille just beforehand and we were going to have to play with a man down, but then you, our lord and saviour, appeared. And you were great as well! I will never forget James' face when you hit him square in the mouth just as he was trash talking us. Oh Merlin, that was brilliant," I gushed, wiping away a tear.

"I didn't know it was such an important game," Scorpius said, blinking.

"You're a family legend," I told him seriously. "My team prayed to the Legend of Beanie Boy before every game for years afterwards."

Now it was Scorpius' turn to look flabbergasted. "The Legend of Beanie Boy?" Astonishment adorned his usually closed off face.

My eyes latched on to the beanie currently on Scorpius' head. "Is that…is that the same beanie?" I asked tentatively, reverently. "It was blue as well." I folded my arms behind my back to stop from reaching for it.

Scorpius raised a hand to his beanie self-consciously. "Um, I don't know, I don't think so? I don't think I'd fit the same beanie I wore when I was 10."

I shook my head, looking up at him in disbelief and wonder. "I can't believe it was you this whole time."

Scorpius shrugged. "I was very rugged up that day. My mum wouldn't let me leave the house unless I was up to my ears in my scarf."

"Still." I bounced on the balls of my feet, beaming. "I can't wait to tell everyone that I found Beanie Boy."

Scorpius shifted his weight. "I can't believe you remember at all to be honest."

I frowned. "Why do you say that?"

"I didn't do that much, I was just the sub. You were the strategist who singlehandedly orchestrated our success. You were 10 and barking out orders like you were born to give them. You even sacrificed yourself as bait so that we could sneak up and launch a surprise attack on the other team," Scorpius said. "You were amazing." His face softened and he gazed at me with a memory in his eyes.

I blinked. I'd always taken the lead in snowball fights, but never once had I received such glowing praise. It was just a given. There's Rose, she'll tell you what to do. "Well, of course I'd remember you. You were the best second in command I ever had. None of my family ever listened as well as you did. Plus, you were the only one who asked me if I was okay and helped me up from the snow when my mum called us for afternoon tea."

"I couldn't leave my fearless leader in the snow after she'd sacrificed herself so valiantly for us," Scorpius said.

"Fearless leader." I chuckled. "Hardly, but I'll take it."

I recalled the image of little Scorpius all bundled up in his big scarf and blue beanie, clear grey eyes peeking through. "You were a cute kid."

"Such a tone of surprise," Scorpius said with a shake of his head.

I laughed. "Well, it's hard to imagine you were ever cute and small."

Scorpius put a hand to his chest, affronted. "You don't think I'm cute, Weasley?"

I looked him up and down. If I had to describe Scorpius in three words, 'cute' would be ranked somewhere in the low 800s. He could be described as cool or intimidating or unpredictable, but cute? "You're many things, Scorpius Malfoy. But cute is not one of them."

"Such cruel words. But at least I know now that 10 year old Rose thought I was cute," Scorpius said.

"I didn't say 10 year old Rose thought you were cute, I said in hindsight, you were a cute kid," I spluttered.

Scorpius eyes' glinted. "Don't worry, 10 year old Scorpius thought you were cute as well."

"Yeah, whatever," I muttered. Why was 17 year old Rose blushing over what 10 year old Scorpius thought? Ridiculous.

"Do you want to know what 17 year old Scorpius thinks?" Scorpius asked with a wolfish grin.

I opened my mouth to deny the offer but no sound came out.

Scorpius leaned in. "17 year old Scorpius would have to agree."

My heart constricted and the butterflies in my stomach awoke from their slumber to start circling. My mind was a flurry of action. Were we still talking about 10 year old Rose? And why was he so close? My cheeks burned.

Scorpius stepped away with a quirk of his mouth. "See? Cute."

I exhaled deeply, willing myself to get a grip. There was absolutely nothing cute about giving yourself third degree burns from embarrassment. Where was a snowball to the face when you needed one? "How come you never mentioned that we'd met before?" I demanded. When in doubt, change the subject.

Scorpius frowned as he pondered the question. "It just never seemed relevant."

"But even in First Year, you could've come up and said hi, said that we'd been comrades in arms," I told him.

"Could I have?" Scorpius asked, crossing his arms. "I definitely thought about it. But it seemed pretty clear from the beginning that a line in the sand had been drawn and I wasn't to be the one who crossed it."

I stared up at him, heart breaking for him, heart sinking for me. I wanted to deny it, to tell him that it wasn't like that, that he could've approached me if he'd really wanted to, that we could've been friends. But who was I to say that? Who was I to say that when I was safely behind the line, surrounded by my army of loving relatives. I bit my lip. "And now?"

Scorpius raised his eyebrows. "Now?" He looked me dead in the eye. "Now I say, fuck the lines."

Warmth bloomed in my chest and a breath of relief escaped my lips. The butterflies beat their wings are little faster. "Fuck the lines," I murmured back to him.


	10. Chapter 10: What lies beneath

"I'm the narrator, I don't need a costume," Scorpius argued.

"Everyone has to have a costume," Fenton said, "you can't just stand there in your school uniform while we're all dressed up. You'll look ridiculous."

"I'll be the one looking ridiculous?" Scorpius asked, arching an eyebrow that conveyed the full depth of his contempt. "The point is that I'm not part of the story. What would a narrator wear anyway?"

This was the wrong question to ask.

A gleam entered Fenton's eyes. "Well," he said, flicking through his book, "a ruffled collar would be a start."

I let out a snort.

"No chance," Scorpius snapped.

"Dress robes…" Fenton continued, unperturbed.

Scorpius scoffed. "I am not wearing dress robes to class."

Fenton peered over his book at Scorpius. Scorpius stared him down, grey eyes blazing until Fenton's hazel eyes finally dulled and the light in them extinguished. Fenton let out a long sigh. "Fine, but you're wearing a nice cloak. Preferably in a jewel tone."

"I have my own cloaks, you know," Scorpius pointed out.

Fenton pinned Scorpius with a look that expressed exactly about what he thought about Scorpius' cloaks. He tutted and then turned to the rack behind him. "This cobalt blue, for example, would look divine," Fenton said, plucking a cloak from the rack and presenting it in front of Scorpius.

"This is such a waste of money," Scorpius muttered, glancing down at the robe.

"…On me, even after you've worn it," Fenton continued, thrusting the clothes hanger into Scorpius' hands and sweeping the cloak around his own shoulders. He inspected himself in the mirror from all angles. "Yes, we'll take it." Fenton dumped the cloak on Scorpius' arm. "Who's next?"

Roy and I shrunk back.

"Rose!" Fenton exclaimed. "My beautiful peasant!"

The next hour could only be described as trying.

* * *

I peeked out of the change room, but Fenton was at the other side of the room, leading Roy towards an array of scarves. I hastily darted outside and stashed the wimple behind a rack of tunics.

There was a scuffle and then a blur of blonde dashed into the changing room next to me. My hair blew away from my face as the curtain swished shut. Had he changed his mind about the costume? I stepped out of my changing room. "Scorpius?"

"Shh," was the immediate response.

How rude.

"Why?" I whispered.

A hand shot out from behind the curtain and pulled me inside.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I jerked forward.

"Hiding," Scorpius said in hushed tones, eyes darting around the small space as if searching for something to bar the door with. Unfortunately, all we had as protection was a flimsy curtain. And it didn't even close completely.

I blinked. "From Fenton? Cause he's with Roy right now…"

"No, Fenton, I can deal with. It's those girls," Scorpius hissed as he tugged the curtain to the right. The gap on the right side disappeared and then reappeared on the left. Scorpius let out a grunt of frustration and then pulled the curtain to the left only for the light to filter through the right side again.

"What girls?" I asked as I watched him battle the changing room curtain.

Scorpius looked over his shoulder. "You know, the trio of terror from the library?" The gentle swish of the curtain rungs accompanying Scorpius' mounting irritation only made the sight more amusing.

I stifled a laugh. "The trio of terror?"

Scorpius gave the curtain a final exasperated tug and then gave up, throwing himself on the floor and settling down against the wall. "You have not witnessed their full horror, Rose Weasley." He shook his head at me bitterly.

"And what, pray tell, is their full horror?" I asked, sitting next to him.

Scorpius closed his eyes, the memory still too fresh, the trauma still too raw. "I was just going to drop her off at the Hospital Wing, get her away from those stupid boys, but she latched onto me like I was her raft at sea. I had to," Scorpius drew in a sharp breath, "I had to hold her hand while Madam Pomfrey administered the potion."

I gazed at him, unimpressed. "You poor thing," I intoned.

"I should've just left her on the floor of the Library." Scorpius dropped his head into his hands. "Merlin, why did I take her to the Hospital Wing? Why? This is why I'm not nice to people."

"Gross, why would you be nice?"

"Right?" Scorpius exclaimed. "They couldn't stop singing my praises the whole time. It was excruciating."

"Yes, how excruciating to have someone look up to you," I drawled.

Scorpius finally caught on that I was taking the piss. "It is," he said indignantly, "especially when it's completely uncalled for. What's a guy got to do for some peace and quiet?"

"Hide in a changing room until everyone leaves?" I supplied.

"Who said anything about leaving?" Scorpius replied. "This is my home now. I will live out the rest of my days here."

"Hmm, yes. Love what you've done with the place," I said, looking around the enclosed space. My eyes met white upon white upon white.

"What can I say? I'm all about the minimalism," Scorpius said dryly.

"Well, I'll leave you and your minimalism to it," I said, heaving myself up. "Every happiness to you."

"Wait." Scorpius' arm shot out and grasped my wrist. "Let me know when the coast is clear, won't you?"

I looked down at the slender fingers circling my wrist. "Can't you just yell at her or something? Do your usual thing?"

Scorpius released his grip on me, fingers sliding down my hand. "I could, but…"

I restrained a knowing grin. "But you'd feel bad?"

Scorpius leant his head back against the wall, back slouched and forearms dangling off his knees. His posture screamed defiance, but his eyes belied remorse. "Something like that," he muttered.

I smiled to myself and reached for the curtain. "Okay," I said simply over my shoulder and then slipped out of the change room.

* * *

What felt like hours later, we finally emerged from the store. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply, welcoming the freedom. I choked. Instead of the breath of fresh air I so craved, I'd inhaled a gulp of bitingly cold wind. I put a hand to my throat as I swallowed, struggling to adjust to the icy temperature.

"Carriages have been delayed due to the weather. They're on their way, apparently," Roy informed us after asking some fellow prefects.

"On their way?" I asked through chattering teeth. "How long is 'on their way'?"

"You could put on one of the costumes if you want to," Fenton suggested.

"Not necessary," I replied, hunching in on myself. The harsh wind infiltrated the cracks in my scarf and cold seeped into my bones.

I shuffled closer to Scorpius, for the warmth, obviously. He looked down at me, his eyes unreadable. A particularly bitter wind swept around the corner and I shivered as it stole my body heat away. In one swift movement, he'd removed his beanie and pulled it snugly onto my head. My eyes widened. Warmth that had nothing to do with the physical covering of my head flooded my body. The surprise shining from my eyes as I looked up at him must have been very noticeable, because Scorpius made an awkward gesture with his arm. "You looked cold."

I bit my lip and tried to stem the affection gushing forth. "Now you'll be cold."

Scorpius ruffled his hair and pulled on the hood of his jacket. "I have this."

I looked at him for a moment longer before saying, "If you're sure." I brought up a hand to touch the beanie and gave him a small smile. "Thanks."

Scorpius just stuffed his hands into his pockets and nodded before redirecting his gaze somewhere above my head.

Oh Merlin, shy Scorpius. I'd unlocked another part of his personality. How much more could my heart handle?

Peeling back Scorpius' layers was an elaborate game of pass the parcel. Gradually unwrapping the present, anticipation growing as each piece of paper was removed. Each layer revealing something more exciting, something more enticing.

"Stop looking at me like that," Scorpius instructed, brow furrowing.

"Looking at you like what?" I asked.

"Like you…" Scorpius trailed off and my mind raced to fill in the gaps. Like I knew that all it would take was for me to thread my arms around him to be enveloped in his warmth. Like I knew that all it would take was one half step forward and a step up on my tippy toes to capture his lips with mine. Like I knew that this boy was good and kind, but that he hid these qualities behind a fortress. But that I was scaling those walls, climbing through windows, and creeping into the deep recesses of the castle.

"I think I need my beanie back," Scorpius finally said.

My mouth dropped open. "What, why?" I asked, forlorn. Had he really bestowed his beanie upon me only to snatch it back so quickly? Surely, he wouldn't be so cruel.

Scorpius' forehead creased. "You're too…" Scorpius bit his lip and began his sentence again, "When you wear it you…."

I waited for him to finish with baited breath.

"It just doesn't suit you," Scorpius finally bit out.

I'd always been told that my face was completely readable and I had no doubt that I currently projected something akin to a wounded puppy.

"Oh Merlin," Scorpius huffed in frustration, at me or at himself, I wasn't sure. "Fine, keep it, it's yours."

My eyes shone as I clutched my hands to my chest. "It's mine?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Scorpius said gruffly, waving a hand.

"Thank you!" I exclaimed, "I love it." I beamed up at him. To think I'd thought this was a bad day. Not only had I discovered the mystery of Beanie Boy, but I'd somehow wrangled Beanie Boy's beanie.

Winning Scorpius' elusive approval felt like winning a prize. Having him smile at me, seek me out, they all felt like privileges, little jewels bestowed only to me. I had no idea what I'd done to earn them, but I guarded them covetously. Having him give me his beanie blew all those previous accolades out of the water.

"It's just a beanie, Rose."

Yes, but it's _your_ beanie. I wanted to say. Instead, I settled for, "And it's very warm."

"I'm cold too, Malfy." Fenton sidled up to us, wrapping his arms around himself.

Scorpius' eyes hardened. "Do you hear something, Rose?"

I looked around. "Nope, must have been the wind."

"So cold…" Fenton's teeth chattered, "…hearted."

"So dim…" Scorpius squinted in the distance," …witted."

Fenton put a hand to his chest and let out an offended gasp as he looked at Scorpius.

"He has told you not to call him that 500 times or so," I reminded him.

"And I've told you 500 times that he secretly likes it," Fenton insisted.

"How would you like it if I called you…Falfazar?" I tried.

Fenton considered this for a moment before breaking into a touched smile. "Falfazar and Malfazar!" He exclaimed, tilting his head to the side and looking at Scorpius fondly.

Scorpius glowered at me.

"Oh dear, bad example," I backtracked hastily. I shot Scorpius an apologetic look, pulling the beanie on a little tighter lest he rip it from my head. "Bad example."

"Carriages are here," Roy announced, re-joining us.

"Thank Merlin," I breathed.

* * *

The weekend came and went and life settled back into its usual pattern. I yawned as I walked out of the library and began the trek back to the Gryffindor Common Room. Curfew approached like a long shadow and my footsteps echoed against the stone floor. Distant yelling sounded. My ears perked up and my inner prefect emerged from the shallows. I followed the noise until my feet stopped outside the old Transfiguration classroom. Now there was…chanting? I pressed my ear against the door.

"I promise not to tell anyone about this meeting and to lie if asked about it," obedient voices spoke in unison.

My eyes narrowed and my brows knitted together. Something dastardly was at hand.

"Alright, out with you lot," someone barked. The voice sounded suspiciously familiar.

The door handle twisted and I jumped aside just in time to avoid being blown aside by the door. Three first years shuffled out. They chatted amongst themselves and by all appearances, didn't show the tell-tale signs of having just been bullied.

The door opened again and Scorpius swept out. My mouth dropped open and my heart sunk. No, surely not.

I covered my mouth. Why was Scorpius meeting with a bunch of first years? And why did he make them promise not to tell anyone about the meeting? I peeked out from the shadows and tiptoed into the room. The chairs were all neatly pushed into tables, blackboard wiped clean.

Scorpius had a reputation for being cold and detached, but he wasn't a bully. But what else could he be doing? What could be so secret?

"Don't jump to conclusions," I muttered to myself as images of Scorpius initiating the first years into his cult flashed across my mind. The picture was frighteningly complete, incense sticks, headdresses, and all. "Do not jump to conclusions."

I looked around the classroom wildly, but no clue presented itself. Crucial pieces of the puzzle lay just out of reach.

I trudged out of the classroom, confused and heavy hearted.

* * *

Fortunately or unfortunately, contact with Scorpius was scarce the next few days. I teetered between asking him outright and stalking his every move. I settled for taking the long route past the old Transfiguration room to class.

I inadvertently struck gold when I heard crying from the History of Magic classroom. A prickle went up my spine. Could it be?

I burst into the room. One boy had his wand raised, in the middle of doing a spell. Another was bent over a book, scribbling furiously. A girl had her head in her arms, shoulders shaking as she sobbed. Scorpius sat next to her with an unprecedented look of patient concern. Four heads turned to me, all shocked and all slightly… guilty looking?

Caught in the act. But what act?

A beat of silence.

The three first years stared at me and then turned to Scorpius. Even the girl had stopped crying mid sob, mouth open and cheeks stained with tears.

Scorpius stood up, chair scraping against the wooden floors. "I made her cry," he declared, glaring as if daring the other three to contradict him.

I narrowed my eyes. "Okay…" I said, scanning the classroom. Something wasn't quite right here. On one hand, it made complete sense that Scorpius would make a little girl cry. On the other hand, it made absolutely no sense at all. "Why?"

"I…uh…" Scorpius' eyes slid sideways. "I yelled at her."

I walked slowly towards them. "Okay, why?"

Scorpius crossed his arms and frowned. "She, uh…annoyed me."

But Scorpius didn't look particularly annoyed. His jaw wasn't ticking as it usually did, no veins were pulsing. His shoulders were tensed, but he seemed more concerned than anything else. And uneasy, very uneasy. I glanced between Scorpius and the girl. Her face was still streaked with tears and she looked up at Scorpius with worry in her eyes. I turned to the two boys whose mouths hung slightly ajar as they watched on in interest and trepidation.

I snapped back to Scorpius and put my hand on my hips. "What is going on here?"

Scorpius released a breath and drew himself to his full height. "None of your business."

If he'd wanted to deter my interest at all, he'd picked the single worst phrase possible. "None of my business?" I lifted a single eyebrow. The boy was skating on thin ice and he knew it.

Scorpius glanced down at the girl before turning his eyes back on to me. There was no warmth in them. "Did I stutter?"

My jaw dropped open and my eyes flashed. Scorpius hadn't stuttered, but my heart did. And not in a good way. I stared at him in disbelief, trying to push through hurt and straight to anger. I'd witnessed his temper countless times before, but it was only then that I realised I had never been on the receiving end. And he hadn't even raised his voice, but it was a far cry from the Scorpius who'd given me his beanie. And the knife plunged all the deeper for it.

I shot him a withering look as I swept past him and approached the girl. "Why are you crying?"

She looked at me before glancing up at Scorpius. Her lip wobbled.

"I told you, it's none of your business," Scorpius cut in, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Stop!" The girl burst out before I could give him a piece of my mind. "It's not Scorpius' fault. He didn't make me cry!" And then the tears began in earnest. "I'm so sorry," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry for making you fight, and I'm so sorry that I'm breaking our promise not to tell, but it's Rose Weasley and she's your friend and I know how much you care."

A pained look flashed across Scorpius' face. "Millie, no, you don't have to do this."

"I do, you're so good to us and it's so unfair that people think you're mean," the girl called Millie wailed, accepting a tissue from one of the boys.

Scorpius closed his eyes as he took a step back and raised his hands to his head.

"I'm crying because I'm so bad at Transfiguration, Scorpius was helping me. He helps all of us."

A breath of disbelief, relief, remorse escaped my mouth. "What?"

"He helps me and Sam with Transfiguration, and Wesley with Charms."

Scorpius let out a groan and leant his forehead against a wall.

I turned to Scorpius. "Why didn't you tell me this? Why didn't you just tell me?" I cried.

Scorpius didn't respond, just started pounding his fist gently against the wall.

"Because it's embarrassing for us to have tutoring," Millie said.

"And he says it's embarrassing that he tutors," one of the boys piped up.

I sat myself down in an empty chair. "Merlin's beard," I said, shaking my head. "I'm a fool, Scorpius is a fool, we're all fools." I floated somewhere in between elation and frustration and shame.

"That's why we're here," said the other boy glumly.

"I'm so sorry," I said.

Scorpius finally turned around. "I'm sorry too, I didn't mean to snap at you…"

I slumped in my chair. "I shouldn't have doubted you."

"I did lie to your face," Scorpius pointed out.

I ran a hand through my hair. "How long have you been doing this?"

"About two months?" Scorpius replied.

"Three," Millie corrected. "It's been so helpful, I wouldn't have passed my Transfiguration test if it wasn't for Scorpius."

"I got an E on my essay last week!" Wesley waved it in the air.

Scorpius just shrugged. "We only meet once a week."

"If Scorpius hadn't yelled at Kenneth Sands, he'd still be trying to hex me every other day," Sam piped in cheerfully.

Scorpius loosened his tie. "Alright, alright, that's enough. We're done for today."

The three first years started packing up their things. Millie sidled up to me. "He's actually a nice person, don't let him fool you."

I smiled at her, touched and bemused at her insistence. "I know he is."

"And he's actually quite patient when he wants to be," Millie continued earnestly.

I chuckled. "Okay."

"And he's so good at Transfiguration and Charms," she gushed.

Ah, a fellow admirer. A kindred spirit. I looked at Scorpius and saw him through Millie's eyes. Tall and striking, he moved with a conviction that instilled a sense of confidence within you, that you were in safe hands. Sure, being good looking was always attractive, but competence could never be underestimated. If I was a first year and a guy like Scorpius willingly helped me with Transfiguration every week, I'd be in love with him too. Heck, I was a 7th year and I was already half way there. I leaned in conspiratorially. "Did you know, he's a good dancer as well?"

Millie's eyes lit up. "He is?" She turned to Scorpius just as I realised my mistake. I opened my mouth to hush her, but she beat me to the punch. "Scorpius, you can dance?"

Scorpius shot her a weird look. "No? Why would you ask that?"

"Rose says you can dance!"

I closed my eyes and released a low sigh. How many of these first year Transfiguration textbooks would it take to knock me out clean? I needed something fast, yet effective. Preferably with as little pain as possible. But mostly fast.

"I don't dance," Scorpius dismissed, stacking his books. "Why would Rose know? The only time I would ever dance is if…" Realisation dawned. Scorpius looked at me sharply.

I flushed.

Why had I overheard their conversation last week? Why had I investigated the crying? Why oh why oh why?

Scorpius ran a hand through his hair. "I think…Rose and I need to talk. I'll see you next week, Millie." He handed her the rest of her books.

Millie looked between me and Scorpius, eyes wide. "Okay, see you." She turned to look at us curiously once more before leaving the room.

* * *

 _A/N: Good news and bad news, folks!_

 _Good news: I'm travelling through Europe the next six weeks! :)_

 _Bad news: Therefore, there will be no update until I get back :(_

 _Good news: I got this chapter up before I left! :) You guys have no idea what a close thing it was (...I'd already started planning the apology in my head). Thank you to everyone who sent me lovely messages and reviews when I needed it most, it was the motivation that got me to push through and just get this chapter done._

 _More good news: I'll still be contactable while I'm away. Best place is probably Tumblr, my username is Bumbledbee there as well. If you have any questions or just want to chat, hit me up! :)_


	11. Chapter 11: And so the curtain falls

The hinges of the door creaked before swinging closed with a dull thud. Then, silence. I redirected my gaze slowly back to Scorpius. He eyed the door with a distaste that had me wondering whether he regretted his sudden decision to talk.

Scorpius paced past me to the front of the room, long legs eating up the ground. He swept a hand through his hair and leaned against the professor's desk. He opened his mouth to speak, thought better of it, and rolled up his sleeves instead. As he pushed his shirt up his forearms a lock of blonde hair fell across his forehead. He blew it out of the way.

Scorpius was ruffled. Dishevelled. But somehow elegantly so. Perhaps it was the sleek lines of his body or perhaps simply the way he carried himself. Whatever the reason, I'd happily spend the time ogling him rather than talking. His white shirt stretched taut across his shoulders as he crossed his arms. How could I have ever thought of him as anything other than mind-numbingly attractive? The slight downturn of his mouth and the crease in his forehead, which used to have me averting my eyes and walking past silently, now gave rise to an urge to reach out and smooth it away.

"I was drunk."

My eyes snapped up to Scorpius in surprise.

"At the party," Scorpius extrapolated with an awkward gesture of his arm.

Oh yes, the party. How could I have forgotten.

"Did you...happen to be drunk as well?" Scorpius asked, uncertainty flickering in his grey eyes.

"No," I said after a slight pause.

"No," Scorpius repeated. "Of course not. Just me then."

I eyed the wooden door. Had it only been a few minutes ago that I'd been chuckling with Millie?

Scorpius shook his head. "I'm sorry, I'm making a hash out of this. What I meant to say is that we kissed."

My brows hit my hairline. Well, Fenton had said that Scorpius cut through the bullshit like no other. Still, a slightly longer prelude would've been welcome. I did always prefer to dip my toes in the water, inching my body in bit by bit. Scorpius, on the hand, had dived right in. Head first. Dousing me with the splash. Leaving me drenched and gasping from the shock of it all.

"Right?" Scorpius asked, his brow creased and a shadow of uncertainty ghosted across his features.

Oh Merlin, he wasn't sure? He'd jumped into the water without bothering to learn how to swim.

"Only, I thought we kissed. But then you never indicated that it ever happened and none of my friends seemed to have noticed anything and I'm beginning to think I dreamt it up." Scorpius bit his lip. "I was drunk after all."

My jaw was now grazing the stone floor.

Scorpius rubbed the back of his neck. "So, did it happen?"

I stared at him. How easy it would be to brush it under the rug. A simple no and I'd be home free, out of the stifling tension. But if I lied, it'd be a case of two steps back, and another one back for good measure. And how could I walk away when a future with Scorpius suddenly seemed tantalisingly within grasp?

I took a deep breath, gathering my courage. "Um, yes." I winced.

"Oh, thank Merlin I didn't just imagine it." Scorpius exhaled, pulling his tie loose.

The tension lifted for a second before Scorpius turned his expectant gaze back on to me.

"So...was it...good? I mean, okay?" Scorpius fumbled. "You probably wouldn't tell me if it was bad anyway, too polite."

When I didn't respond immediately, his face dropped. "Oh Merlin, I didn't molest you, did I? It was consensual, wasn't it?"

And this was why you never dive straight into the water, folks. Scorpius was drowning. Flailing and floundering as he took in great gulps of water. Luckily for him, I had a state of the art flotation device to fling towards him. If only I had the courage to throw him the line. Why yes, Scorpius. It was, indeed consensual. It also happened to be the best snog of my life. Well done, you. Except the words were caught in my throat. Perhaps because I knew that once I threw him one flotation device, there was every chance I'd end up showering him with every other buoyant item in my vicinity.

"It was consensual," I finally bit out.

"Thank Merlin," Scorpius sighed, placing a hand on his chest. "And? C'mon, give me something here, Rose."

"It was unexpected, but..." Merlin, why was this so hard? I looked at the boy in front of me, his face the most earnest I'd ever seen it. I took a deep breath. "Good. Really good." My face flushed a deep Gryffindor red. Oh hell, where had the 'really good' come from?

A big grin spread across Scorpius' face. A surprised, delighted grin. An endearingly shameless, boyish grin. "Really good?"

"Don't make me say it again," my voice came out more pleading than I would've liked.

Scorpius leaned back against his arms and looked skywards. "I kissed Rose Weasley and she said it was really good."

"Oh Merlin," I groaned, head falling into my hands. I desperately needed to gain back some ground. All of a sudden, he was sitting on a tower of inflatables, floating on top of the world. And there I was, still dangling my feet on the side of the pool. Someone get me a pin. Or at least an inflatable flamingo so I could sail across the water and give him a solid push. "And what did you in your drunken state, think about it?" I prodded.

"Oh, it was really good for me too, from what I can remember." Scorpius' teeth flashed.

"And what do you remember?" I pressed.

Scorpius scratched his head. "Not a whole lot, blurs, just the feel of you…" he trailed off, the tops of his cheeks tinging pink.

The feel of me? Merlin, help me, now I was blushing as well. I restrained myself from asking what I felt like. I summoned some steel back into my voice. "You said you'd come back, but you didn't."

Scorpius winced. "Did I? I'm sorry, drunk Scorpius is an idiot."

I raised an eyebrow. "Drunk Scorpius said sober Scorpius was an idiot."

"I guess I'm just an idiot all round. Forgive me?" And his smile was so disarmingly hopeful that I really had no choice in the matter. "I didn't say anything else idiotic that night, did I?" Scorpius' brow furrowed.

My mind flashed back to that fateful night and I tapped a finger against my chin. "I don't know about idiotic, but you did say some other things."

Scorpius turned a shade paler. "Merlin's beard, here we go."

"You recited what I eat for breakfast. Everyday." I told him.

Scorpius froze. "I did, did I?"

"Uh huh." I waited for an explanation. None was forthcoming.

"Anything else? Let's get this over and done with quickly." Scorpius motioned for me to continue.

"After the kiss, you said..." I trailed off, how much was it safe to divulge?

"Just hit me with it, I can take it," Scorpius urged.

"You said that you'd been wanting to do it for a while," I blurted out.

"Ah." Scorpius stared at a spot on the wall next to me.

"But obviously, you were drunk, so it didn't mean anything," I continued quickly, not wanting him to think that I had any expectations.

"Right," Scorpius said, continuing his thorough inspection of the wall. Then defiance flashed in his grey eyes. "Actually, not right."

My heart jumpstarted. "Not right?"

"It did mean something. I meant exactly what I said."

I was becoming his echo, but this couldn't go unclarified. "You meant that you had wanted to..."

"Yes."

My chest constricted. "And did it live up to your expectations?"

"I have some regrets," Scorpius said with an indiscernible expression on his face.

My flamingo floaty sprung a leak, I started sinking.

"The fact that I was too drunk to remember it for one, and the fact that I couldn't do it properly because I was off my face, also springs to mind," Scorpius continued.

"Oh," I breathed. A lightness filled my body. A fragile breeze that lifted me upwards, but that could all too easily send me plummeting.

"Oh," Scorpius agreed, studying my face intently.

We stared at each other for a few breathless moments.

"Hypothetically," I said into the silence, "if you were to get a second chance, how would you do it? Hypothetically."

A spark entered Scorpius' eyes. "Hypothetically?"

I nodded, biting my lip.

Scorpius pushed off the table and sauntered slowly towards me. His eyes searched mine, checking the meaning of my proposition, double checking. "Hypothetically, you'd be a little closer, so I could hold you like this." He tugged me between his legs and tucked a stray curl behind my ear.

My pulse leapt and my breath quickened. "Hypothetically," I murmured.

"Hypothetically," Scorpius agreed, voice low as he cradled my face with both hands. I had no choice but to look up at him, heart in my mouth and pulse thundering in my ears.

Scorpius' grey eyes perused my face with a languid sweep. "And then hypothetically, I'd kiss you here." Scorpius brushed a chaste kiss on my forehead, my eyes fluttered shut. "And here." He placed a lingering kiss on the corner of my mouth. "And then…" His head remained bent, eyelashes fanned across his cheeks, lips hovering just above mine. My skin tingled at the warmth of his lips, at the nearness of his touch, but he didn't move any closer. Nor did he move away.

"Here," I whispered, closing the gap and kissing his mouth.

"Hypothetically," he murmured against my lips. I felt his mouth turn upwards into a grin. And then he was kissing me so gently, so reverently, my heart ached. He cradled my face like it was made of glass, savoured my lips like nothing had ever tasted so sweet. He kissed me with a tenderness I didn't know he was capable of. He kissed me like I was the most precious thing in this world.

And something in my chest cracked, each delicate caress deepened the fissure. My heart was bursting with a warmth and a yearning it didn't have the capacity to hold. I teetered on a precipice. Fall or fly. I didn't know. All I knew was Scorpius. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, anchoring myself to him, craving more of his touch. Scorpius wrapped an arm around my waist and deepened the kiss. I let out a sigh and leant into him.

"E," Scorpius said as he pulled away, a soft smile on his face.

"What?" I asked, looking up at him in confusion, still catching my breath.

"You asked me whether it lived up to my expectations and I give it an E, for Exceeds Expectations."

I jerked away from him. "An E?"

"Well, hypothetically anyway," Scorpius responded with a quirk of his mouth.

I stared at him in all his quippy, nonchalant glory. "Hypothetically, I'm at an O for Offended," I said, attempting to shake off the remnants of the kiss and catch up with the series of events. How quickly blissful notions of romance shattered.

"Well, I meant it as a compliment, but I should've known, only Rose Weasley would be disappointed at an E," Scorpius said with a nod of understanding. "Not to worry, we'll work towards that Outstanding."

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I'm pretty busy tutoring my first years at the moment, but I could squeeze you in after," Scorpius continued, eyes alight with mischief.

"D," I cut him off, putting a hand on his chest and shrugging out of his grasp. "Your post kiss conduct is Dreadful. At the party, you told me you'd return and you never did. And now you insult me by giving me an E." I shook my head at him. "Simply dreadful."

Scorpius looked appropriately apologetic, but there was still a glint in his eye. "Perhaps you could give _me_ lessons then?"

I let out a long sigh and turned my head away. "To be honest, I don't know if it's even salvageable. I don't know why I should bother."

Scorpius took a step towards me. "I think I could give you a reason to bother."

I didn't doubt it. I didn't doubt that he could reduce me to a puddle within seconds.

"Back to your common rooms, all of you!" McGonagall's voice echoed from the corridor. Both our heads snapped towards the door. "It's almost curfew, you're lucky I haven't given you detentions immediately," McGonagall continued. Her orders were followed by the hasty pattering of feet, then a resounding silence.

I turned slowly back to Scorpius. I inclined my head towards the door. "We should probably get going."

"Probably," Scorpius said, not moving from his position.

I stared at him for a moment longer before turning around and gathering up my books, a wave of shyness suddenly overwhelming me. The light hearted atmosphere dissipated and now some other tension hung in the air. The question of what now?

"Do you want me to walk you to your common room?" Scorpius offered.

"Oh, no. That's okay," I said, shaking my head. "You won't make it back to the dungeons in time then."

Scorpius shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "What's a detention or two?"

I gave him a small smile. "It's okay, truly." I turned my back on him and walked towards the door. Coward, coward, coward, my footsteps seemed to echo.

I paused with my hand on the door knob. Was I really going to leave our relationship hanging in the balance? Again? We'd talked about the kiss at the party, finally. But then we'd kissed again. Were we going to wait another few weeks to hash this one out?

I looked over my shoulder at Scorpius. He'd returned to his original position against the desk, face contemplative. Brooding. Something tugged at my heart. How long had I already made him wait? I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my lip. This was Scorpius. Not Roy. Scorpius was solid as a rock. Made of stronger stuff.

Still, I couldn't be sure that he wouldn't just leave me at the drop of a hat like Roy did. I couldn't be sure of anything. To any onlooker, Roy seemed like a safe option. Your classically decent guy. And look where that had gotten me. No, there was no such thing as a safe option.

Scorpius looked up and his eyes found mine. His eyebrows twitched upwards ever so slightly. His face held the gentlest of questions. Warmth flooded my body at the softness in his eyes. That was the difference between Scorpius and Roy. Scorpius was all give. He never demanded anything of me. A risk worth taking, my heart whispered to me. I found myself turning towards him, making my way to him, feet moving on their own accord. Even when uncertainty overwhelmed me, I was still drawn to him like a moth to a flame.

"What is it?" Scorpius asked, voice uncharacteristically soft.

"I don't know," I whispered, looking at him as if he held all the answers.

"What is it you're afraid of?" Scorpius asked, tipping my face up to his and searching my eyes.

What was I afraid of? I was afraid of so much. Fancying Scorpius was both exhilarating and terrifying. I knew him and yet there was still so much that I didn't know about him. The only intersection in our lives seemed to be this History of Magic project and even that was ending soon.

"Rose?"

I flicked my gaze back to his. "You," I answered honestly.

Scorpius blinked. "Me?" He pulled away from me and something that might have been hurt or disappointment flashed in his eyes.

"Not you, exactly," I backtracked hastily. How many times had he been labelled as scary or intimidating because of his demeanour? How many times had he been written off simply because of his last name? "I'm afraid, because I like you. A bit too much," the confession fell from my lips.

Scorpius' shoulders sagged. "Well, that's a relief, because I like you too, Rose. In case that wasn't obvious."

A spark rekindled in my belly. "It wasn't," I murmured.

"Perhaps not to you," Scorpius said wryly. "Your friend, Delia Dalrymple, is it? She's been giving me looks for weeks." Scorpius scratched his head. "Now that I think of it, even Fenton's been smiling indulgently at me recently."

"Sometimes I see you across the Great Hall and I feel like I don't even know you."

"Sometimes we're just talking in a group and then you look at me and I feel like you know too much about me." Scorpius took my hand, ran his thumb over my fingers. "Not random facts like my favourite colour or my middle name, hopefully, but I feel like you know me, in fundamentals, whether I want you to or not. Kind of terrifying."

I laced my fingers through his. "Sometimes I do think I know you, in fundamentals. But other times, you seem so far away."

"Is it the resting bitch face?" Scorpius asked. "My mum always says I should smile more."

The corner of my mouth twitched. "Just resting?"

"Okay, so it's not always just resting, sometimes it's wilful bitch face," Scorpius admitted. "But mainly so dolts like Fenton don't strike up a conversation with me."

"You secretly like Fenton," I admonished.

Scorpius' teeth flashed and he shrugged. "He's alright."

I glanced down at our hands. "I thought you didn't like holding hands."

Scorpius let out a sigh and gave me a rueful smile. "As I'm learning, you're an exception. To many things."

The saying about feeling warm and fuzzy inside? All true. I'd never felt more like a lush pashmina scarf in my life. The emotion must have shown on my face, because a look of horror flashed across Scorpius' face. "Bloody hell, you're turning me into a sap, Weasley."

"If you were a sap, Malfoy, your post kiss conduct would be much improved," I informed him. "In fact, I've changed my mind. I will take you up on that tutoring offer, we need to increase your sap levels."

"And I've changed my mind as well, I retract th-" Scorpius began.

"I won't hear you disparaging yourself, Malfoy," I cut across him, reinvigorated. I grinned up at him. "I see a potential, I really do. You could go on to do great things. The fact that you tutor a bunch of first years says a lot."

"I charge them," Scorpius announced. "50 sickles a lesson, 75 when we meet on Sundays. Sam's still in debt from the time I yelled at that bully for him in the hallway. It was a Hogsmeade weekend so I charged him public holiday rates. Extremely lucrative business."

"Excellent, you can put that towards your own tuition. My lessons don't come cheap, you know."

"Mates rates?" Scorpius asked, resigning himself to his fate. "Or…more than mates rates?"

A grin tugged at my lips. "I'll see what I can do."

"Well, no time like the present," Scorpius said and stole a quick kiss from my mouth, so swift I barely had time to register it. "Rose Weasley," he proclaimed, holding me by my shoulders, "you are the light of my life."

I raised an eyebrow. "Laying it on a bit thick, aren't you? Sap levels overflowing."

Scorpius shrugged, taking the criticism graciously. He bent to kiss me again, longer and more lingering this time. Just heated enough to have me leaning in for more when he pulled away. "Your handwriting is atrocious, but I'd still rather decipher something written by you than struggling through Fenton's grammatically challenged writing."

I blinked, shaking off his effect on me long enough to process his words. "Well, that's just offensive."

The corner of Scorpius' mouth kicked up. "Well, if at first you don't succeed…" He didn't wait to finish his sentence before pulling me into a deep kiss, plundering my mouth. My eyes fluttered shut and my hands found his hair. "This is way better than setting Fenton on fire for the group project," Scorpius said, a touch breathlessly.

I cocked my head to one side, valiantly trying to keep my grasp on the few rational thoughts I still had floating around even while my whole body tingled from the contact. "I mean, better, I guess? But still really not what we're going for."

All I saw was a wolfish grin before Scorpius' lips were on mine again. My hands swept across his back, the soft shirt doing little to contain the heat and strength emanating from his body. "I wouldn't want anyone else by my side in a snowball fight or in any other fight or non-fight," Scorpius murmured, still a hair's breadth from my lips.

"Better," I whispered.

Scorpius picked me up and carried me over to a desk, cupping my face and kissing me open-mouthed. My body arched up to meet his, straining for the heat of his body. Scorpius obliged, stepping in closer, one hand sliding down my back to rest at my hip, leaving a trail of fire blazing in its wake.

I let out a shaky breath as we separated and was gratified to see that Scorpius was not completely unruffled either. His grey eyes had a dazed look about them and his blonde hair stuck up at the back. I waited expectantly for him to say something.

Scorpius exhaled. "Yeah, I got nothing."

A breathy chuckle escaped my lips. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Scorpius tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

I smiled up at him. "I'd say you've shown a marked improvement today. Very well done, beanie boy."

Scorpius glanced down at his feet before flicking his gaze back to me, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips. "Thanks, beanie girl."

I let out a small gasp. "Beanie girl." I clutched at my heart. What had I said earlier about feeling like a lush pashmina scarf? Scratch that, I was the human embodiment of the furriest of Fenton's fur scarves. Dry clean spells only.

* * *

"So, I was doing a last minute check on our costumes the other night and what do I discover but a missing wimple," Fenton said, turning his eagle eyes on me, one impeccably groomed eyebrow raised.

I rearranged my face into one of surprise and mild distress. "Oh?"

"Thankfully, I was able to contact the lovely ladies at the shop and they were able to find you a replacement, Rose."

"Thankfully," I responded through a strained smile.

Fenton clapped his hands together. "Well, no point wasting time. Let's try it on." He reached for the aforementioned wimple and descended upon me.

"Argh," I let out a strangled yelp as I threw down my quill and dodged his nimble hands. "Is this necessary?"

"Have to make sure it fits!" Fenton growled through gritted teeth as he made another pass at me and tried to jam it on my head. "Don't think I don't know you attempted to hide it in a rack of tunics," he hissed.

I swerved away and batted his hands away. "It's a wimple for Merlin's sake, it's not fit for anywhere but behind a rack of tunics."

"Your costume won't be complete without it, think about your grades, Rose!"

A low blow. One that struck deep and true. I made the fatal error of pausing momentarily to process his words. Fenton pounced.

"Ack, gerroff me, noo-Scorpius!" I cried in desperation as Fenton lunged across the table and wedged the wimple onto my head. But before I could feel self-conscious about calling for Scorpius, Scorpius had snatched the wimple off my head and chucked it into Fenton's face without so much as looking up from his book.

"No fair," Fenton spluttered, rubbing his face and picking up the fallen wimple.

"No wimple," Scorpius ordered with an unyielding look before turning a page in his book and slinging a casual arm over the back of my chair.

I grinned smugly at Fenton from the safety of Scorpius' shoulder.

Fenton eyed Scorpius' arm on the back of my chair and his expression changed from put out to intrigued. The next thing I knew, he was wiggling his eyebrows at me. The grin threatening to split his face in half was contagious and I found myself barely containing my own exhilaration. Holding my breath, I slowly leaned back in my chair. I risked a glance at Scorpius, but he continued reading, blissfully unaware of the havoc he was causing inside me. I opened my mouth and let out a silent squeal at Fenton.

Fenton shot me a subtle thumbs up.

I released a breath to compose myself and cleared my throat. "Anyway, is there anything we need to go over while we wait for Roy to arrive? Should we practice the flame freezing charm again?"

Scorpius sat up and snapped his book shut. "Yes."

Fenton's eyes narrowed. "You just like setting me on fire…but I wouldn't mind the practice."

"Alright, ready when you are," Scorpius said, a gleam in his eyes as he pulled out his wand with a flourish.

"Still weird to see him convey an emotion other than anger and annoyance," Fenton remarked to me as he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck.

Fenton said the flame freezing incantation and a moment later Scorpius had Fenton's feet engulfed in flames.

Scorpius let out a low chuckle that could easily have been interpreted as a cackle. "This never gets old."

Fenton simply shook his head as Scorpius put out the fire. "Do you know what never gets old? That," he said, pointing at Scorpius face with an incredulous expression. "I don't think I'll ever get used to him looking happy." Fenton made two arches with his hands and placed them over his eyes. "His eyes turn into half moons and he actually looks…" Fenton struggled to find the right adjective. "…sweet tempered! Like someone I'd ask for directions if I was ever lost."

"I have an excellent sense of directi-" Scorpius started to say.

"And the dimple!" Fenton exclaimed over Scorpius. "The dimple," Fenton said bitterly, shaking his head at Scorpius. "You, sir, do not deserve a dimple. Dimples should be reserved for nice, charming people. Like myself." Fenton flashed a smile, dazzling in its own right, but noticeably bereft of the slight indentation he so desired.

"You can have the dimple," Scorpius huffed with a careless wave of his hand. "Between you and Rose, I've heard enough about it for a lifetime."

"Let us speak no more of dimples or wimples," I declared.

"Excellent idea," Scorpius said.

"Then let us speak of this." Fenton pointed his finger between me and Scorpius.

I glanced at Scorpius and then back at Fenton. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything. When did it happen? How? Where?" Fenton leaned forward and steepled his fingers.

I let out a conspiratorial chuckle. "Well, did you know that Scorpius tut-"

Scorpius shot me a warning glare so intense I swear the tips of my eyelashes were singed off.

"Scorpius tu…tuna fishes?" I stuttered.

A low groan emerged from Scorpius beside me.

"Scorpius…tuna fishes," Fenton repeated sceptically, his eyes swivelled between me and Scorpius.

I peeked at Scorpius, afraid of what I might see on his face, but his eyes were closed and he was pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Avidly." I nodded as my left eye twitched.

Fenton turned his suspicious gaze onto Scorpius. Probably trying to picture Scorpius in a tan coloured fishing hat and vest, pondering life on the side of a riverbank.

Scorpius directed his unimpressed eyes onto me and let out a sigh of long suffering. Probably wondering what he'd gotten himself into with me. "That's me, spawn of Draco Malfoy and avid tuna fisher," he deadpanned.

Fenton narrowed his eyes before crossing his arms and sitting back in his chair. "Fine," he said snippily, "keep your secrets, don't tell ol' Falfazar what happened."

"If you ever had any chance of finding out what happened, you just singlehandedly destroyed it," Scorpius informed him.

I sighed and rolled my eyes, not this again. "We just talked it out and stuff."

"And stuff…?" Fenton raised a suggestive eyebrow.

"And stuff," Scorpius confirmed with a quirk of his mouth that could almost be described as jaunty.

"Well." Fenton clapped his hands together with renewed vigour. "That's all I needed to know. That wasn't that difficult, was it?"

"You make everything difficult," Scorpius replied sardonically.

* * *

"And thus, I die!" Fenton proclaimed with a dramatic flourish of his head. He cast the flame freezing charm and then Scorpius set him on fire.

The class provided a surprisingly gratifying chorus of 'oohs'. Fenton broke character for a moment to preen before snapping back into Wendelin the Weird and acting out the rest of his 'death'. (It involved a lot of strangled screaming and clawing at his body, it was actually kind of disturbing.)

And thus, the curtain fell on our History of Magic group project.

No, really. Fenton arranged for thick red velvet drapes to drop upon the end of our presentation. We had to do bows and everything.

It was ridiculous, but surprisingly enjoyable, as seemed to be the case with this entire group project.

I squeezed Scorpius' hand and shot him a grin as we finished our bows.

An eyelash and a dimple. That's how it started. And that's all it took. I tumbled. And who knew if I was soaring or plummeting, falling or flying, if it was all uphill from here or if I was about to hit rock bottom. All I knew was that a smile was breaking on Scorpius' face like the dawn and it certainly felt like I'd grown wings.

* * *

The End.

* * *

 _A/N: Thank you to everyone who has come on this Scorose journey with me. Your support has been invaluable. I hope you enjoyed the ride!_

 _Much love,_

 _Bumbledbee_


End file.
